Threads
by FlamingFlyingFoxOfDoom
Summary: Sans died. But then he kind of un-died. Needless to say, everyone's confused, but Sans refuses to talk. Or maybe he just doesn't know? Rated T for mentions of torture and profanity and some possible trigger warnings.
1. Chapter 1

"ALPHYS!" Papyrus yelled, pounding on the door to the lab "DR. ALPHYS, PLEASE ANSWER ME!" It was difficult to pound on the door with the blue bundle in his arms. Sans slept fitfully in his brother's hold, his eyesockets squinted shut.

The door slid open and the little dinosaur-esque scientist appeared, her head tilted to look up at the rather tall skeleton.

"W-what is it Papyrus?" Alphys stammered, put on edge by his display. Not that Papyrus yelling was anything new, or him carrying Sans to the lab. Both those things were a common occurrence; more than not it was just Papyrus complaining his lazy brother won't wake up from a nap or something. However, what was unusual about this visit was that Papyrus _pounded_ on the door. He was usually more polite than that, or at least called first.

Papyrus's skeletal face somehow managed a look of worry as he held out his elder brother "Sans fell down." He said so quietly (for him) that it was like the world was muffled.

Alphys's heart stopped.

"W-what?"

"HE FELL DOWN!" Papyrus's voice rose to its normal volume again. "DR. ALPHYS, PLEASE! HE WON'T WAKE UP!"

Alphys felt a lump in her throat but ushered them into her lab/house. "P-put him o-on the bed upstairs, please." She directed, motioning to the escalator perpetually moving upwards.

She watched the skeletons ascend and then scurried down into the lab. The true lab. Quickly, desperately, she leafed through all the notes she's collected about DETERMINATION. All the quantities of the injections were recorded as well as how each patient reacted. She put her head in her hands.

She couldn't use DETERMINATION on Sans. She couldn't. He'd melt.

A bitter chuckle found her at all the puns Sans could make off that.

 _"DR ALPHYS?"_ Papyrus's voice called from upstairs. The scientist steeled herself, grabbed what could be useful, and headed back to the ground floor. She has to try _something_. If it comes to that, if it comes to DETERMINATION….

She swallowed.

No. Only as a last resort. Only if Papyrus is fine with it.

She'd have to come clean. But, for Sans….

Alphys's hasty footsteps shuffled along the floor as she raced as quickly as she could to the Skeleton Brothers. Normally in a circumstance like this she'd run on all fours (it was a lot faster) but she needed her arms to hold precious objects that could potentially save Sans's life.

Papyrus had been looking around the ground floor when she emerged and quickly, without question, scooped both her and her materials up and raced up the motorized stairs.

The elder brother was in a worst state than when she left him.

Sans lied on the bed, breathing quick and shallow.

Skeletons don't really need to breathe. Unless they're dying. It's kind of an instinct, apparently. If they breathe more than the chances of their souls not breaking apart increases. It's a sign of persistence, of something done by the body that could remotely be useful in keeping their soul from falling apart.

Alphys swallowed down her hysteria and got to working using what she had. Gently she asked Papyrus to wait downstairs, and after a quick argument he did. Should she fail and Sans turn to dust- or…melt, she didn't want Papyrus to witness it. It might shatter his optimism about the world. And by Mew Mew she knew the Underground needed that optimism.

Alphys was so intent on keeping Sans alive she didn't hear the new arrival downstairs.

"HELLO UNDYNE." Papyrus said as he answered the door and promptly got a fish boot to the face.

" _WHAT WERE YOU SCREAMING ABOUT MORON!? I HEARD YOUR OBNOXIOUS VOICE ALL THE WAY AT MY HOUSE!"_ she yelled in an Undyne-like fashion.

"SANS FELL DOWN." Papyrus explained, trying not to let his voice waver. It failed and cracked constantly with what might become sobs.

Undyne didn't expect that answer. For a moment she just stared in shock and then made her way inside.

"Where it the lazy lump? I'm going to punch him back to life!" she snarled, baring her fangs. Papyrus gripped her shoulder and held her back. If skeletons were capable of tears, his eyes would be as watery as Waterfall.

"DR. ALPHYS IS WITH HIM." He said.

Undyne looked at her apprentice a long moment and then shook his hand off, turned around, and put her hands on his shoulders. She gave one of her big grins.

"Then there's nothing to worry about. Sans will be fi-" a high-pitched wail cut her off. Neither of the pair wasted a moment and darted up the stairs. Alphys was desperately doing…something, moving her claws so quickly that they were just a blur of yellow. Sweat slicked her face.

"N-no! S-s-sans, d-don't give up o-on me!" she screeched, trying to do something…anything. Sans's hand was beginning to disintegrate into dust.

"SANS! BROTHER!" Papyrus screeched, magic beginning to seep from his eyesockets in the form of tears. He dropped to his knees by the bed and took Sans's dissolving hand into his own. "SANS! PLEASE DON'T DIE!"

Undyne tried to help.

" _SO HELP ME SANS IF YOU DIE I'LL KILL YOU!"_

Tried.

Tears welled up in Alphys's eyes as she did everything she could think of. There was a small dose of DETERMINATION with the materials she brought up. She could use that. Maybe if they were almost dust it'd work-

No that only worked for the soul, huh?

"SANS! SANS NO!" Papyrus wailed.

Alphys cried, finally just dropping where she was and burying her head in her hands. She tried. She tried so hard and she couldn't do anything to save him. Sans's body turned to dust. There was no point in trying DETERMINATION now. This was another one of her faults. If she had just _used_ it…. If she had just sucked up her fear and _tried_ maybe then Sans would be alive… Maybe…

She sobbed. Undyne gently, quietly, knelt by her and pulled the dinosaur into her fishy embrace. Alphys clung onto her and sobbed.

"I-I'M SORRY! I TRIED! I REALLY DID BUT I-IT WASN'T E-ENOUGH!" she wailed, clinging onto Undyne and biting down her lie. She could've done something but she didn't. She let her friend die. She let Papyrus's brother die.

Oddly enough Alphys was the loudest in the room.

Papyrus simply sat, staring at the pile of dust that had been his brother. Feeling the grains shift in his hand. This pile of nothing was Sans once.

Sans was dead.

But-

Papyrus's eyesockets somehow widened as a little white heart materialized, floating above the dust. The three stared at it and its soft white light.

"Sans was a boss monster?" Undyne was the first to say their thoughts. A very, very trivial thought compared to the bigger 'Sans was dead'.

A crack split through the middle of Sans's soul and then split down in half. Papyrus wouldn't avert his eyesockets from what was left of his brother. He'd stare until the soul broke entirely. Alphys joined him in his vigil, still clinging to Undyne and with tears still in her eyes. Undyne, in a rather large contrast, glared at the little soul, as if saying 'don't you fucking dare leave me with a sobbing Papyrus'.

They waited for the soul to break.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It didn't.

Needless to say, they were all very confused. Sans just died, he turned out to be a boss monster, and now his soul won't break. Perhaps that was a good thing, but then again maybe it wasn't. Was Sans still conscious?

Papyrus open his jaw to ask when suddenly the heart erupted into blue flames. All three of them moved back, startled by the spontaneity of this as the broken soul glowed blue, magical flames licking at the air. A small white bone materialized out of nowhere and crashed the end against the corner of the bookshelf, breaking one end into a point. The little bone then dug into one side of the broken heart and pulled out, tugging behind what looked like a blue thread. Then it dug into the other half, and then poked out, and then the other half. In, out, in, out.

Alphys, Undyne, and Papyrus stared, watching the needle as it worked. When the BoNeedle made it the entirety to the bottom, it began to tug the thread tighter, bringing Sans's soul back together. Undyne, frustrated and impatient as she was, reached forward to push the two pieces together, her wrist being lightly slapped away from both Alphys and Papyrus, whom kept their eyes transfixed on what was happening before them. She crossed her arms with an agitated huff.

Sans's soul put itself back together. And once it did, the dust that was his body swirled into a storm, glowing blue as Sans reformed. From his soul, strings reached out and recollected the dust and dragging his clothes around the cloud. Before Undyne could try and poke it again, the glow died down and Sans plopped onto the bed, rubbing his skull.

"ah that hurt." He muttered, looking up. His spotted the three standing before him "oh. hey." His voice was level and nothing but the slight widening of his eye sockets could betray he felt anything but….whatever emotion Sans usually feels.

"BROTHER…?" Papyrus said, reaching timidly toward him. Sans gave his brother's hand a skeptical look, turned his gaze to Papyrus's and grinned.

"what's up, Pap? need a hand?" he said. Papyrus let out a delighted squeal that Sans (plus no one else after that pun) expected and scooped his brother up, squeezing him tightly.

"SAANNSSS!" he howled, magical tears streaming from his eye(sockets) and rubbed his face against Sans's.

"yep. that's my name." Sans said, eyeing his brother with a forced grin. Undyne reached over and snatched Sans from Papyrus (who whined like a sad puppy) and held the skeleton's face an inch away from her own, by the collar of his hoodie.

" _YOU SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN I'LL-"'_

Sans grinned and winked one eye, shrugging "i haven't the scare-cest idea what you're talking about."

Undyne let out a frustrated howl and shook him wildly before dumping him onto the floor, only for him to be scooped up by Papyrus again.

"are we playing hot-potato or something?" Sans asked. His eye-sockets widened in mock-realization "wait, does that mean i'm the potato?"

"ONLY THE BESTEST POTATO EVER!" Papyrus chirped, refusing to put Sans down. Alphys tilted her head and eyed him, burning with questions but not having the nerve to ask.

Un/fortunately, Undyne had more than enough nerve for both of them "Hey Sans, what the hell just happened to your soul just now?"

A flash of nervousness was barely seen before Sans just shrugged. "i still don't know what you're talking about."

"You _DIED_." Undyne elaborated. "Turned to dust and everything. You were DEAD."

"woah, really?" Sans would've blinked had he eyelids "man that's weird."

Undyne grinded her fangs "WEIRD!? Sans what the hell ARE you!?"

Sans checked himself over, stared at his hands a moment, then answered. "apparently a skeleton."

Undyne screeched and stormed down the stairs, yelling something about eating an entire tub of nice cream before dealing with Sans again.

Sans shrugged casually "hey, Pap. mind putting me down?"

Papyrus seemed reluctant but obliged, gently lowering Sans onto the floor. The younger brother was hesitant to withdraw his hands, as if thinking should he let go then Sans would turn to dust again. After a moment, he did and took half a step back. Sans didn't seem to mind him so close. Alphys timidly approached.

"I-I'm glad y-you're okay, Sans." She smiled. Sans shrugged.

"still don't know what you're talking about, but thanks." He said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Alphys swallowed and got closer, quickly hugging the short skeleton. Quietly she said "You can tell me you know."

Sans kept his voice low so Papyrus couldn't hear. "I know."

Alphys bit her lip. When Sans spoke with proper conventions you know something serious is happening. She took a step back and studied Sans meekly. It's been such a long time since the two have been the friends they once were. Sans still visited her on occasion, sometimes he'd watch an episode or two of anime, but for the most part it seemed the only one he talked to was Papyrus… And, uh, the lady behind the door. Then again, perhaps she was also at fault for that.

She smiled sorrowfully. Both of them had become something of a recluse, it seemed.

* * *

 **Howdy!**

 **Yeah uh, Undertale fanfic because I can't stop thinking about these losers. Some things to be addressed:**

 **Pairings: I really don't like pairings to be the center of my fanfics. Subplots, yeah sure. Hinted at? Definitely. But I don't make them the focus so if you don't like my ships they could be pretty simple to ignore. (My pairings for Undertale are Soriel, Alphyne, and kind of Papyton.)**

 **Also: Why is Alphys seemingly the focus when the big stuff is happening to Sans? Honestly, because I like Alphys. Sans is gonna have more focus later on, so don't worry about that.  
**

 **Updates: Oh please don't ask. I am horrible with consistencies in updating.**

 **I think that's about it for now, so see ya.**


	2. Chapter 2

She wouldn't stop getting calls from Papyrus nowadays.

Alphys woke with a yawn, stretching her arms out before rolling over, putting on her glasses and squinting at her phone. The Mew Mew Kissie Cutie theme song played as her ringtone and the contact number, photo, and name of Papyrus glowed bright on her screen. The clock read 1:32 AM. She answered, rubbing her eyes.

"SANS IS SLEEPING AGAIN WHAT DO I DO!?" the skeleton immediately shrieked. At this point, Alphys knew better than to have her phone by her ear.

"He's just sleeping, it's okay." Alphys said sleepily. Ever since Sans…er, well…died, Papyrus has been understandably high strung about anything his brother might be up to. Throughout the day, Alphys would get calls from him freaking out about something or another. She got to her feet and made her way downstairs, knowing full well this call was going to take a while. Papyrus began bombarding her with questions, most of which she already answered before, as she sat on the escalator perpetually going down.

Funny story about those escalators, it was only intended to have one installed.

As stairs.

Alphys messed it up and the thing would only move downwards. Using her brilliant scientific mind, she installed another one that only went up. It worked. Unless you tripped on the one going up. Undyne did that once and it took them a half an hour to get her out of the loop.

Alphys continued to talk to Papyrus, trying to ease his woes as she sat in front of a rather large screen. She put the phone on the counter, on speaker mode, as she messed with wires and tapped along on the keyboard she installed.

Static filled the screen and Alphys sat back, stifling a yawn and trying to answer Papyrus's questions. She understood. Really, she did. But she couldn't help but feel incredibly annoyed when she got woken at 1:00 in the morning.

The static dispersed, focusing on a black screen. With her foot, she gently tapped on the buttons of the keyboard and entered night-mode, which flashed the screen with the image of a room in shades of green.

She felt bad about it, but Papyrus was so worried… So…. She installed a camera in Sans's room. That not creepy at all, right? She only used it when Papyrus called. Sans didn't know about it. Well, not that she knew off. Sans was always knowing a lot more than he let on. Well… True, she didn't have any proof or anything but she just got that feeling from the skeleton.

"Okay Papyrus, I'm watching him now." Alphys yawned. "Please get some sleep." Papyrus turned in the camera's view to face it and waved.

"NO I DON'T NEED SLEEP-"

"Get some sleep." Alphys cut him off "You really can use it."

Papyrus shifted a bit, fidgeting with his fingers before leaving the room. Alphys sighed and settled herself down to watch. Vaguely she was reminded of an indie horror game.

Papyrus felt better knowing someone was watching Sans when he wasn't able to. More often than not nowadays, it was Alphys watching him at night. Undyne tried a few times-

…Tried.

She wasn't the most patient babysitter. More often than not, Sans managed to lose her somewhere and leave her howling in frustration. The short skeleton wasn't completely oblivious to everyone wanting to watch him, in fact he seemed to be entirely aware of it. For Papyrus, he made no trouble at all. Undyne, he made all the trouble. For Alphys…

Well for Alphys, he just seemed to be Sans. He didn't seem to care all too much. Or maybe he didn't know about her network of cameras watching him wherever he went?

…Still not…creepy, right?

Alphys sighed. She was such a stalker.

Movement on the monitor caught her eye and she looked up. Sans had rolled over out of his bed and onto the floor, bringing the entirety of his sheets with him. Alphys cringed at how his leg was twisted at an angle that would be painful had he flesh. Sans shifted around in his sheets, kicking them off with an annoyed grumble. He rubbed at his skull again and got up. For a moment, he just analyzed the crumpled sheets on the floor. Then he picked up his pillow off the mattress and threw it onto the ground with the blankets.

Alphys sighed. The mattress wasn't even too high up. Sans didn't even have a bed frame! She found the more she watched him the more she agreed with Papyrus. Sans really _was_ lazy.

The said skeleton nestled back into his blankets, his feet sticking out at the end and yawned. Drowsily, he fumbled his right hand along the floor until he grabbed a hold of something. A light shown from the object and Alphys quickly put together it was a cell phone.

Unfortunately, the light obstructed the night-vision technology. Alphys wondered for a moment whether she should bother turning the setting off, but she didn't have to. The light dimmed down and Sans…was gone.

Alphys stared, dumbstruck.

Did Sans just disappear? Did his cellphone eat him or something? Why did he just pick up the phone and then disappear? The phone was gone too. Where was he!?

Alphys reached for her phone to call Papyrus and found it wasn't there. A lump caught in her throat as she recalled the animatronic jump scares. Really she knew that was fiction, as everyone knows robots are nice, but there was a certain…unease, in it. She fumbled in a drawer and drew out a flashlight, flicking it on and investigated the area around her desk. Where did her phone go? She needed to call Papyrus…

Alphys, still under her desk, heard the door to her lab open and close. Terrified, she continued to cower as her imagination got the best of her. Footsteps approached. She held her breath and tried not to be too obvious.

Step.

Step.

Step.

…

It was quiet.

Alphys sighed, relaxing a bit and just decided it must've just been one of the amalgamates downstairs.

"who we hiding from?"

She screamed a lot louder than you'd expect, darting out from under the desk and almost tripping over various objects. Someone grabbed the collar of her pj shirt and pulled her back so she was steady on her feet again. The intruder had picked up the flashlight she had dropped in her flight and shined it on his face.

"boo." Sans grinned.

Alphys stared at him, dumbstruck. "H-how did you get here so fast-" she blushed. Sans wasn't supposed to know about the camera- . Her eyes darted to the monitor, still focused on Sans's room and began to sweat. Sans followed her eyes.

"oh cool. it's the my room channel." Sans said. He held the flashlight at a reasonable angle and held up his phone. "you texted me?"

Alphys blinked, confused "U-uh. No. I d-don't even know your phone number."

"huh." Sans's eyesockets focused on his screen. "weird." He pocketed the phone.

"Sans I don't even know where my phone _is."_ Alphys said. Sans motioned onto her desk, where her phone was sitting just where she put it. Alphys stared. "Uh…thanks?" she grinned sheepishly. Sans shrugged. Alphys fidgeted. Sans was always way too casual about anything, really it freaked her out. Also…. How did he get here so quickly? Why was he here? ALSO HE DIED. THAT WAS REALLY FRICKING WEIRD. WHO JUST DIES AND MAGICALLY COMES BACK TO LIFE!?

Apparently Sans.

She fidgeted more.

Sans stared.

Skeletons were really freaky in that they don't blink. They just grin and stare.

"W-wanna watch some anime?" Alphys asked pitifully.

Sans pondered for a moment (probably) and then shrugged "sure."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Not much happening this chapter. Not much happening the next chapter, either. Probably.**

 **Tra la la**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N  
** **Hey guys! Hope you enjoythis lovely chapter! I'm gonna respond to a few reviews first if you don't mind:**

 **Monkey999Boy: ...What. I mean, I guess I cansee where you got SansxAlphys (not a ship in this, by the way), but where did you get SansxUndyne? Don't mean to be, well, mean... But how did you come to that?**

 **DarkraiFangirl: Yes. Yes it was a FNAF reference. I apologize. *Feels my sins crawling on my back**

 **TimeturnerJasmy: I'm so glad you want to see more Sans and ALphys interactions. I do too! That's why I wrote this! And I too find Sans's powers to be very interesting... More interesting to me however is what everyone else knows of them.**

 **I Heart The Hitachiin Twins: First! Nice Penname. Hikaru and Kaoru FTW. Second: I...didn't know that people thought the Dreemurs were the only boss monsters. I always thought Undyne was one too. And Sans, of course. Papyrus is strong but I guess he isn't one...Or maybe you destroy his soul when you destroy his faith in you :'( ... OR MAYBE SANS TOOK HIS SOULD BEFORE IT BROKE. I JUST THOUGHT OF THAT.**

 **If I didn't respond to your review it's because I couldn't think of a response or you just didn't have much to say so neither did I.**

 **Thank you all!**

 **Tra la la, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Papyrus had invited Undyne and Alphys over for spaghetti. Alphys fidgeted outside the Skeleton Brothers' home, shifting her feet. Snow was not good for a reptile. Snow was not good for a fish. Snow was more a thing for a rabbit, a dog. Something with _fur._

Since the night Sans had randomly shown up at her lab, she found it's been difficult to find Sans in his room. Well, what'd she expect, really? He saw that someone got video feed of his bedroom, who WOULDN'T be freaked out? Apparently the strange skeleton had taken to sleeping on the couch at night, much to Papyrus's pleasure. He'd said that they have been having a slumber party for a week straight now.

She still hadn't figured out who texted Sans. In all honesty, she expected he did himself. Also he moved freakishly quickly. Also he _died-_ Eh, you get it. Her claws fumbled on the screen of her phone, trying to text Mettaton.

Her and the robot hadn't been the best of friends lately, but she'd like to try to talk to him again. Apparently the story of Sans's kind-of-death caught his attention enough for him to text back.

 _MTT:_

 _So Sans just_ died _?_

 _Alphy:_

 _Yeah. It was weird._

 _MTT:_

 _But he's alive now?_

 _Alphy:_

 _Yeah. Still trying to figure that out. :Y_

 _MTT:_

 _Hmm….perhaps I could help?_

 _Alphy:_

 _Rly? Well if u want._

 _MTT:_

 _Certainly! Where is he/you?_

 _Alphy:_

 _We're both at their house. Sans and Papyrus's._

 _MTT:_

 _Alrighty then. Be right there._

Alphys stared at her phone, trying to figure out what Mettaton intended to do to help. Maybe, being a former ghost, he'd know something about odd souls.

Undyne pounded on the door for the third time "Papyrus, we're freezing out here! Open the door!" she snapped. Alphys shifted her feet and hoped the skeleton would comply. True it's only been about five minutes but she didn't wear shoes and her claws were getting cold. There was the sound of shuffling for a moment before the door opened. Sans stood in the doorway, yawning, and then motioned them to come in.

Upon entry they found that the skeletons' living room had been transformed into an intricate pillow fort of sorts. One half of it had a sign over it labelled 'The Great Papyrus'. That side seemed to be well made and was neat and organized inside of it. A wall made from the couch cushions separated it from the other side which had a half-hanging sign that just read 'sans' had a blanket draped over the rest of the couch making a crude tent of sorts. Socks and pillows covered the floor.

Undyne twitched "What?"

Sans shrugged "papyrus wanted to make a pillow fort."

The younger brother emerged from the kitchen at his name, dressed in cooking attire and carrying a plate of steaming spaghetti. "OH, UNDYNE AND DR. ALPHYS! HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HERE?" he asked.

" _I'VE BEEN KNOCKING AT YOUR DOOR FOREVER!"_ Undyne snapped.

Papyrus did his weird skeleton frown and darted his eyes over to his brother. "SANS, WHY DIDN'T YOU ANSWER?"

Sans yawned "i was sleeping." Papyrus looked annoyed by his brother's answer but didn't say anything and turned to address his guests instead.

"I'M SORRY FOR SANS'S LAZY-NESS. MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME! I'M ALMOST DONE WITH THE SPAGHETTI!" he said with a grin before ducking back into the kitchen.

Undyne rolled her eyes, used to Papyrus's quirky nature, and examined the forts instead.

"Were you having some sort of fort-war?" she asked.

Sans stuffed his hands into his short's pockets. "Pap wanted to but i fell asleep." Undyne responded to appropriately, yelling at him. Alphys tilted her head. It was weird seeing Sans without his signature hoodie on. Or maybe his slippers were his signature item? It didn't matter as he was wearing neither of them. Just a t-shirt and shorts on today. The light in his eyesockets darted over to her for half a second. Alphys felt chills down her spine to the tip of her tail.

Sans seemed to just be getting progressively freakier to her.

In a few moments, Papyrus brought out several plates of spaghetti for their enjoying. Alphys poked at it, feeling her stomach turn but not wanting to seem rude. Undyne gulped it down then criticized it, Papyrus taking in every word like some sort of word-sponge.

Sans fell asleep, his face emerged in the spaghetti like some sort of spaghetti-snorkler. Alphys tried to find some way to dispose of her spaghetti without actually eating it, as it is it was a bit… overcooked.

But she really didn't want Papyrus to feel bad.

Swallowing down her distaste she ate a forkful and tried her hardest to not let her urge to puke show on her face. Undyne really shouldn't be teaching Papyrus to cook. 'Boil to a crisp' was not the best flavor.

Or maybe it was for a fish?

Eh, who knows.

Sans's snores and Undyne's advice filled the room as they ate and it seemed kind of…normal. A normal, everyday meal between friends. Yep. Nothing weird about a fish, dinosaur, and two skeletons eating spaghetti underground.

It was kind of peaceful, actually. Alphys found herself zoning out as she ate her spaghetti and found she kind of wanted to join Sans in nap land. It was nice.

Really nice.

Then the wall blew up.

"HERE I AM!" the robotic voice bellowed as the debris flew everywhere. Alphys coughed as she got a mouthful of dust and she heard Undyne swear loudly at Mettaton as he made his entry. What was that supposed to do to help? She had no idea. Maybe Mettaton just wanted attention?

…

That was a stupid question. Mettaton always wants attention.

She wiped her glasses clean using the end of her labcoat and put them back onto her face, blinking to get her eyes to focus. Dust was everywhere, so were chunks of the wall. She managed to see in time to see everyone staring at Sans.

A little green bar floated over the skeleton, and over that, the number '1'. The green bar went entirely down.

Sans only had one HP.

Oh crap.

Sans only had one HP.

"SANS!" Papyrus shrieked, running over to his brother. Undyne turned to the robot, grinding her fangs and snapped

"YOU JUST KILLED SANS!"

Mettaton shrugged his weird noodle arms "Again, apparently."

Alphys ignored the argument between fish and robot and ran over to where Papyrus was trying to hold together Sans. He started disintegrating to dust again, and Alphys felt sick when she couldn't help but wonder if he'll repeat his soul-stitching trick.

"SANS!" Papyrus didn't seem to wonder it. "SANS STOP DYING!" another odd request. Undyne turned her attention over to them from Mettaton. The rather apathetic robot seemed very interested in what might happen next.

Alphys felt like she was going to pass out.

 _Sans, please just…._

* * *

It was weird.

Floating, floating. That's all he really could register. He was floating somewhere and he was very comfortable. It was warm, but not too warm. Like… When it's cold out and you're under a nice thick blanket. That kind of warm.

Taking a nap here seemed like a good idea.

 _"SANS!"_ There was Papyrus. Sans groaned and forced his eyesockets opened.

This place was pretty. It was as if he was underwater, except black. Waves of silver and faint blue swirled about the void like an aurora. All the sounds here were muffled, muted. It felt nice.

 _"SANS STOP DYING!"_

Sans couldn't help but chuckle to himself. His brother had such an odd way of voicing his concern. Sans yawned.

Did he really have to go back?

No, not really. He didn't have to but he always did. Why? Well…

His eyesockets closed again. He could take a short nap. It wouldn't hurt anything.

 _"Sans?"_

There was Alphys. She just sounded like she was asking a question. His grin widened. Did she expect him to respond? Nah, he'll pass. Just sleep for now.

 _"SANS!"_

Undyne tried to help.

 _"SANS I WILL GLUE YOU BACK TOGETHER IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP-"_

Tried.

God forbid that be an on-going joke.

A soft glow shone on his face and drew his attention to look. It was a white little heart floating above his chest, its glow dimming and brightening over and over. It was kind of pretty. Sans closed his eyes again and settled in to sleep. He didn't have to deal with this right now. There wasn't anything wrong with sleeping.

 _Crack._

He opened his eyes again and saw a small crevice snaking its way down the heart. He wondered why it was important-

Wait.

Crap.

THAT WAS HIS SOUL.

Sans flailed in the void, not knowing which way was up or down. No wonder Papyrus was asking him to stop dying! He was dying! CRAP, HOW DO YOU NOT REALIZE THAT!? Oddly enough his magic still worked here, wherever it was. He flexed out one hand and a bone materialized. Grumbling, he knocked it over whatever happened to be there, breaking the end into a point.

His left eye lit up, materializing a thread out of nothing and he began to work the makeshift needle into his soul. It hurt. It hurt a lot but he did it anyway. What he did last time seemed to work again, but he noticed no stitches came undone. They just vanished. He mutter to himself and kept on sewing, wincing whenever he pricked the surface.

In, out. In, out.

Damn that hurt.

He got to the edge of it and tensed up, bracing himself for possibly the most painful part. Sans tugged at the needle and pulled the thread tighter, trying not to scream as his soul was pulled together. The void blinked out like a light, which is odd because it was rather dark. But it vanished and he was aware of them all staring in his direction. Again. Papyrus was chewing on the tips of his fingers- a bad habit, Sans made a note to remind him of that- Undyne glare again, and Mettaton was making some commentary he didn't care to hear. Alphys stared too, she seemed to be thinking about something.

He did it. Again. He fixed his soul.

He would've sighed had he a mouth at the moment. Now for the body.

This part hurt in a different way.

Focusing, Sans sent out the magical threads from his soul and wrapped them around the pile of dust he assumed was his. Luckily he didn't need to focus for the entirety of this segment. His soul just did the rest, gathering up everything that was his. He needed to put in a little extra effort to drag his clothes around it but for the most part he could just focus on keeping his magic in control. Focus on his reaction to this.

Focus on the pain.

He felt every single grain of his body get dragged in and fixed into place, and felt as every small particle melted together, molding into his form. It hurt. It hurt so, so badly it felt as if a needle was being driven through his skull-

 _Gaster, what's happening? What's going on?_

 _Hush now. It'll be over quickly enough. Just keep calm._

Sans screamed.


	4. Chapter 4

The sound was unholy.

An ear-splittingly loud screech literally shook the air, causing everything to look like it was shaking into waves. Alphys slapped her claws over her ears and she saw Undyne do the same, yelling something probably including swears. She shut her eyes tightly as the shaking of everything made her nauseous and faint.

Though her ears were covered and her eyes shut, she could still feel the tremors and feel her own body waver.

And she could hear a voice.

 _GASTER THIS HURTS- STOP! STOP-_

And the whirring of a saw.

 _"What the hell is that!?"_ she heard Undyne yell.

"SANS!" That was Papyrus. Alphys peeled an eye open and saw the skeleton extending a hand toward the white soul which seemed to be the only thing not shaking. The threads extended from it that had been gathering up dust started to whip about madly.

One of them smacked Papyrus, hard. Under his left eyesocket it left something like a cut, a hole through his cheekbone that left small specks of dust flickering about. For a skeleton, that probably was something like a scar.

The little wound did nothing to stop Papyrus from making his way closer to Sans's soul. When another thread lashed at him, a bone would materialize and deflect it. Papyrus was a bit more resourceful than he was given credit for.

While Papyrus made his advance, Alphys squinted at where Sans's soul was screeching. The threads extending from it had half reformed him, but his eyesockets were entirely black and his jaw was opened. His skull was bent at an odd angle that made him look like some boney scarecrow. His half-formed arms were pinned to his sides by the soul-strings which seemed to tighten painfully around him. It dawned on her that the screeching sound was Sans screaming, distorted and twisted into whatever it was they were hearing.

The voice in her head was Sans too. Her eyes darted first to Undyne, then to Papyrus. Could they hear it too?

 _GGGGGRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!_

"SANS! SANS IT'S OKAY, I'M HERE!" Papyrus yelled. One extended hand reached up and grabbed the edge of Sans's sleeve. The threads reacted to the touch, jerking about here and there and then became static. "SANS…"Papyrus said. His voice lowered considerably "Sans, I'm here."

The waves began to still and reality flattened out, became steady again. Sans finished reforming and collapsed. Papyrus caught his brother before he fell to the ground, holding him tight as his knees buckled and he collapsed onto the floor. The younger brother set his arms protectively around Sans. What he was being protected _from_ , it seemed no one knew. For a little bit everyone just breathed, calculating how to act next.

And then Mettaton decided to talk.

"Well that was weird." Mettaton commented. Everyone in the room shot him looks full of murderous intent.

Alphys and Undyne moved forward, ignoring Mettaton and looming over the brothers.

"Sans?" Alphys asked timidly.

Everyone (except Mettaton) held their breath.

"mmf." Came the response. Sans gently pushed himself away from his brother (not too far away, it seemed neither of them wanted that). He looked around and yawned "hey, what happened to the wall?"

"Sans." Papyrus said. Bluntly, flatly. This caught Sans's attention and he looked up into his younger brother's face. His grin faltered.

Timidly he reached and lightly touched the cut under Papyrus's eyesocket. "I hurt you?" he asked so quietly it was barely a whisper. His eyesockets widened. "Pap-"

"IT'S ALRIGHT BROTHER." Papyrus grinned, suddenly speaking loudly (normally). It seemed he changed his mind about something. "JUST A SMALL CUT IS ALL. ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

Sans slowly lowered his hand and stared at for along moment. Then, with just about the most irritation anyone has ever heard him speak with, his gaze slipped to Mettaton and…

"you did that on purpose." He glowered.

"Whatever do you mean?" Mettaton said, waving his noodle arms about "I simply wished to help Dr. Alphys figure out your soul!"

"WHAT!?" Alphys sounded horrified "Y-yes I wanted to know about why S-Sans's soul does such weird things but I didn't want to HURT him!"

"WAIT." Undyne snapped. Alphys chewed on her claws and cringed. Undyne took a deep breath and then hauled Sans up by his collar. "YOU **DID** KNOW YOU WERE DOING WEIRD SH-"

"don't swear in front of papyrus." Sans interrupted.

"OH, SANS." Papyrus laughed, waving dismissively "I ALREADY KNOW THE WORD 'SHINNAMON'." He thought a moment "WAIT, WHY IS THAT A SWEAR?"

Everyone else present collectively sighed.

Undyne twitched for a moment the decided to ignore the swear thing altogether. Her attention focused back on Sans. "So you knew?"

Sans shrugged "i know just about as much as you do." He eyed Mettaton "i also know it HURTS when you die, you big heap of metal."

"Well I wouldn't know, hmmm? I never died." Mettaton said, swaying about. "Besides, Dr. Alphys wanted me to help-"

"Yeah, HELP." Undyne snapped "You just went up and decided KILLING Sans was the best thing to do!"

"yeah, speaking of sans you should put him down." Sans suggested. Papyrus got up and reached for him, giving Undyne big watery 'gimme' eyes. Undyne opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, then handed Sans to his brother with an agitated huff. Papyrus clung onto Sans how a child might cling onto a stuffed animal. Sans seemed okay with that.

Alphys fidgeted. "I-I'm sorry. This is my fault. I asked Mettaton if he could help us figure this out a-and…" she trailed off. "I'm sorry." Was that the only thing she could think of to say? How sad.

Sans studied Aphys for a quick moment that felt so much longer. Then he shrugged "eh, no skin off my back." and gave a wink.

"BUT SANS" Papyrus said "WE DON'T HAVE SKIN- OH MY GOD THAT WAS A JOKE." He shook Sans lightly "HOW CAN YOU ACT SO CASUAL SO QUICKLY AFTER THAT!?"

Sans shrugged "eh."

Undyne began to reach for the short skeleton, thought better of it, and just settled for yelling "BUT YOU KNEW!?"

Sans shrugged "yeah."

Needless to say, everyone was rather frustrated.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **So... Yeah things are gonna start to get a little weird, they're gonna get a little wild. I'm not from around here, I'm from another dimmension- Wait no I'm not. Sorry for lying.**

 **Updates are going to be a bit less consistent for awhile. I ran out of pre-written chapters so... er... yep. Probably could've planned ahead a bit more.**

 **Responses to Reviews:**

 **Monkey999Boy: Dearie me you are correct. You have cracked the case. I confess, this is a MettatonxSans fic! Oooooohh nooooooooooo... ...Actually it isn't, I just wantedto adress this review because it made me laugh!**

 **TimeturnerJasmy** **and Guest: "Then the wall blew up": YOU TWO. YOU TWO GET ME. That is HILARIOUS. How would you guys like to watch that? 'Dumb Ways to die Starring Sans'. L to the O to the other L.**

 **TheDeductionist:** **I'm glad you enjoy this fic so much! And it's good you're confused/terrified. It amuses me. (But only if it is about this fanfic! I wouldn't want you to be confuse-errified in real life!)**

 **Cosmickatsu:** **Er... Sorry for killing you twice then.**

 **wolvesofthebluemoon:** **Thanks for liking the void! I was proud of myself for that little bit of scenery. And Mettaton isn't the nicest person from myperspective. Not that he's horrible, but he does seem like the type to blow up a building for the sake of curiosity.**

 **If I didn't respond to your review it pretty much means I didn't have a response besides 'WEEEEEEEEEEH A REVVIIEEEEEWWWW'.**

 **Tra la la, Scootered is an odd word.**


	5. Chapter 5

The wall was fixed pretty quickly. Alphys was capable of creating a fully-functioning phone in a few seconds, so building a wall meant rather little to her. Mettaton helped too in fear his reputation would be tarnished. Undyne helped simply because Alphys was and Papyrus, as usual, gave it his all. Between the four of them they got the job done rather quickly.

Even Sans tried to help.

Tried.

He had picked up a few boards and sleepily made his way over, surprising everyone by actually doing something. But then Papyrus scooped him up and dropped him onto the couch, shoved a plate of spaghetti in his arms, and went back to work.

Sans didn't seem to try to argue with his brother. No one else seemed to mind this either. Usually Sans's lack of effort annoyed at least Undyne, but they all (except Mettaton) feared to let Sans do anything that had the slightest chance of killing him again.

When they finished re-building the kitchen wall they went back to the Intricate Pillow Fort and found Sans sitting in his tent, his fingers prodding at his sternum.

"SANS?" Papyrus said, approaching him. Sans lifted his gaze and grinned.

"yep. sup?"

"NOTHING." Papyrus said "JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE ALRIGHT."

"hate to tell you this, Pap, but I'm not." Sans said. He winked as Papyrus let out a startled shriek "i'm left too." He waved his left hand as he said this.

"DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!" Papyrus whimpered. A rare somber look flashed on Sans's face and he turned his attention to his hands.

"right. sorry."

Alphys took a deep breath and walked up to Sans, scrambling to get on the couch next to him. The short skeleton took a (surprisingly) firm hold of her forearms and helped her up. She shot him a grateful look as she settled down.

"Sans, I k-know you don't like people to pry, but-" she started. Sans cut her off with a dismissive wave.

"yeah, yeah. i'm assuming you guys want some sort of explanation." he said. Undyne snorted in a way that could be transcribed as 'no duh' and Papyrus nodded eagerly. Sans sighed "alright, alright." He thought for a moment, propping up his skull on his hand.

"I would like to know if you could do it again." Mettaton chirped. He waved his hands out dramatically "I can see it now: 'Dumb Ways to Die! Starring Sans the Skeleton!'" He swayed about "You're going to be FAMOUS, Darling!"

Sans gave him a look that made Mettaton feel rather unnerved. Undyne glared back at him, uncertain of how to respond and Alphys shuddered slightly. Had she seen that look before? Not that she could remember…

Papyrus caught it and quickly sat at his brother's right, wrapping his arm protectively around him. "METTATON, NO KILLING MY BROTHER OVER AND OVER FOR ENTERTAINMENT!" he snapped. Sans's expression went back to his regular grin. He shrugged.

"probably won't do good for your show if you showed a monster's soul going all nutso again." He pointed out.

Mettaton thought this over a moment "But that's where the drama comes into play-"

"B-b-but it wouldn't be as good!" Alphys butted in "If it didn't star Mettaton!"

This earned a robotic laugh "Of course, of course! How silly of me! Sorry Sans, Dear, but I'm afraid Dr. Alphys is right. The show wouldn't be NEARLY as good if it didn't star ME!" He gave a bow "That said, I bid you adieau!" he scootered backwards, stopped to open the door, then scootered off into the distance.

The four remaining monsters looked annoyed as the sound of Mettaon faded away. Undyne kicked the door shut and then shot a glare toward Sans.

The short skeleton ignored her and addressed Alphys "thanks. starring in a tv show doesn't sound like my kind of thing." He cringed and gripped at his chest "also that hurt."

"DOES IT STILL HURT?" Papyrus yelped. Sans forced a grin.

"it…stings a bit. but i soul-d be able to take it."

"SANS, STOP TELLING JOKES WHEN YOU'RE IN PAIN."

"but laughter is the best medicine."

"LAUGHTER IS HELPFUL, YES. BUT I DON'T KNOW IF IT ACTUALLY HAS ANY SORT OF HEALING ABILITIES."

Sans shrugged "it's just the" he winked " 'heal'-ling i get."

Papyrus vibrated angrily, a muffled scream of frustration being held inside his oddly shaped skull. He stopped when he spotted Sans's eyes locked on the small cut beneath his eye socket.

"how about that? does that hurt? do you feel okay?" Sans asked, motioning to the scar.

Papyrus put his hands on his hipbones and grinned wider "I'M PERFECTLY FINE, BROTHER! DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!" he posed dramatically, some invisible wind pushing his scarf like a cape behind him. Sans chuckled a little.

"well if you're sure."

"THAT I AM."

"can't argue with that, then."

Alphys shuffled a bit, fidgeting with her claw. Her heart pounded against her ears and she struggled not to breath in a frenzy.

"S-s-sans…" she stammered out. The skeletons and fish turned their attention to her. She felt the pressure on her chest increase. "W-who's G-g-g…" she took a breath "Gaster?"

Sans's shoulder rose slightly, the corners of his grin tilting downward. He laughed awkwardly. "who?"

"Gaster!" Undyne snapped, throwing her arms up in the air "I heard it too! You were yelling for Gaster to stop doing _something-"_

"With a saw." Papyrus frowned. "I HEARD A SAW."

"you can't hear saws, you see a saw." Sans winked. He shrugged "the name doesn't really mean much to me-"

"BROTHER, THIS IS IMPORTANT." Papyrus said, standing tall. Sans went to say something-

"What if your soul goes crazy again?" Alphys prompted.

"Next time you might accidentally take Papyrus's HEAD off!" Undyne snapped.

This caught Sans's attention. His shoulder slouched slightly. "Er…" he fidgeted. Everyone stared at him. Sans abruptly grabbed Alphys by the forearm and dragged her off the couch and out the door. He waved "need scientific opinion or whatever. tell ya in a bit."

"WAIT, SANS!" Papyrus darted upstairs, ran into Sans's room, ran back out, did a swan dive off of the balcony, landed in Undyne's arms, rolled out of them, ran towards Sans, and threw his jacket around his shoulders. (and the author ran out of breath reading this sentence.)

"oh. thanks." Sans said, fidgeting with his hood.

"AND MAKE SURE TO PUT YOUR SLIPPERS ON." Papyrus chided, motioning to where the pink shoe-like things were thrown lazily on the floor. Sans rolled his eyes and shoved his feet into the shoes, wiggled his toes a moment, and then continued to drag Alphys out the door.

The small lizard monster shivered as the cold air hit her scales. Snow drifted down lazily from an unknown source and the flakes landed on her nose. Her face reflexively scrunching up as the strange tingling sensation darted through her snout. She took a few, short breaths in and-

"bless you." Sans said.

The sneeze was caught off guard and fled. Alphys sniffled a bit, rubbing at her nose.

"Uh… thanks." She said "S-sans, where are we going?"

The short skeleton was dragging her to the right of the door they had just exited. The cold of the snow and ice beneath them froze her claws and made her feet numb.

"not too far, i promise." Sans said, not looking back at her. Alphys frowned, staring at where Sans gripped her wrist. His grip was surprisingly firm. One: skeletons have no muscle, so that fact they could grip at all was interesting. Two: Out of the two of them, she expected Papyrus to have a stronger grip. Or maybe he did? Papyrus was oddly gentle, so chances are he never really gave it his all in the fear he might hurt someone.

Sans continued to lead her by her arm. He looked around, almost suspiciously, then turned the corner and went into the deeper snow behind his and Papyrus's house.

"S-sans?" Alphys said, tilting her head. Sans let go of her wrist a moment and walked up to a wall. Alphys followed sheepishly "Uh…what are we doing?"

"ssh." Sans hissed through his teeth. He spoke quietly "hold on a minute, then we'll talk." He began to brush against the wall with the tips of his bony fingers. After a moment, his index finger caught on the edge of the siding. "here it is" he mumbled. He took a key from his pocket and fit it into the wall.

 _Clunk_

"Sans-"

Sans turned to give her an oddly somber look before pushing on the wall. Which turned out to be a door. "Come on." He said before disappearing inside. Alphys swallowed a lump in her throat before following. The door slammed shut behind her, hardly making a noise. The room was pitch black and so quiet that her breathing sounded like a tornado. She heard what she hoped was Sans move quietly about, which came to her as a shock. How could he be so quiet in here?

She heard a few things move aside, a low bang followed by a quiet "fuck!" and then a "don't repeat that around papyrus. ever."Alphys chuckled awkwardly. Sans was a very concerned brother.

Suddenly the room flared up, a white light shining from above. It flickered awkwardly for a moment, as if struggling, then steadied out and its glow illuminated the room. Alphys blinked away the tears the sudden burst of light produce and squinted to focus. Not more than a yard in front of her, Sans stood with his hands in his pocket, his skull tilted slightly to the side as he looked at her. Behind him, something large was covered with a worn sheet. The room itself was all chrome and counters, drawers. A small vent hummed to life in the corner, stirring up dust and such. Papers littered the counters. A few cabinet doors hung open. They're contents all unknown, labelled only with strange symbols she couldn't recognize. Racks of what looked like vials, blueprints, data in the form of charts and graphs. Notes. A few scattered tools here and there-

Alphys's eyes widened. There was no way around it.

"Sans is this a lab?"

"nah, it's a laboratory."

….

"Oh my god Sans."

* * *

 **It seems Sans is being forced to open up a bit. And I managed to update this in time! Huzzah!**

 **Replies to Reviews:**

 **Rdococ-** **you. I like you.**

 **Frisk Dreemur-** **Thicket. Your turn.**

 **Honeyhoshi-** **please don't cry. Then I'll cry and then everything will just be a big mess.**

 **TheDeductionist-** **I don't know if this was clear, but they all heard Gaster. And Sans. And the screaming. Also, might I say, I love the opening line of that review. Made me laugh.**

 **Kiryma-** **Her name is Sally and she's a scarecrow. And maybe… I guess we'll see about that.**

 **Welp. That's it for review replies this time. If I didn't respond it's because I couldn't think of a response. Sorry.**

 **Tra la la, A lab is a dog. A lab is a place. Tra la la**


	6. Chapter 6

" _Date, May 21_ _st_ _1XXX_

 _Beginning experimental processes."_ The dark man stood tall in the camera's view, arms folded neatly behind his back. Eye sockets glowing. _"Due to the lack of volunteers, I had to….commandeer one"_ he grimaced. He moved slightly to the side, letting the camera's focus drift onto a figure latched tightly to the table. _"Name of subject: Sans."_

Alphys held onto her knees, watching the footage with wide eyes. She glanced over at Sans, who simply shrugged. Not much help. The Log Data was found in one of the abandoned cabinets, along with many other tapes. Sans showed her this one.

The man- Gaster, Alphys assumed, stood in the center of view again. _"Beginning magic-enhancing experiment."_ With that he gave a sight sigh, the corners of his mouth tilting downward as he held up a saw. He flicked it on with a twitch of his fingers-

Sans fast-forward the tape. Alphys burned with questions, feeling like for every one Sans answered, three more showed up to take its place. But she had to respect his decision here. This clearly had a deep impact on Sans she didn't quite grasp. She got that he's been through some….unseemly things.

The short skeleton sat back again, letting the tape play. The current angle was once again, on Gaster. The lights were dim. His face seemed….charred?

" _June 2_ _nd_ _, 1XXX_

 _Sans is finally making sense again."_ He cringed _"Er…He's not too happy."_ He suddenly coughed into his fist and straightened up, clearly trying to regain composure. He'd be cute if he hadn't clearly just sawed someone open _"Subject went through the post-experiment routine, none the less. Results exceed expectations."_ He picked up a list and scanned it, reading it out loud _"Blue Magic: Enhanced. Speed: Enhanced to the point he might not even be moving-"_ Sans fast forward the tape again. Not as long this time. Still, Alphys couldn't help but be a bit annoyed. She eyed him.

"So you went through this and ended up with one hp?" she asked.

Sans cringed, much like how Gaster did on the tape "er. yeah."

Alphys fidgeted. She wanted to see more, her damned curiosity threatening to cloud her common sense/courtesy. Gently, she put a claw on Sans's shoulder. "You don't have to show me this. Just the parts that may have to do with your soul." She smiled weakly "I put together who Gaster is."

Sans chuckled a bit "eh. this seems easier than explaining. here we go."

Gaster looked scared. His eye sockets were wide, his mouth turned downward.

" _Er- August 15_ _th_ _-"_ Something exploded behind him, causing him to duck _"S-something's wrong. Sans is wrong-"_

A white whip crashed through the wall, sending debris showering all over the place. Gaster took a wild step back and threw up a bone-wall in defense. The whip cracked through them and several other followed suit.

Gaster struggled _"Er- Sans seemed to have slipped down the stairs. Apparently the subject had ended up with one HP- WAH!"_ He ducked and threw up another bone-wall _"And- er- Died. He seems to have gained the ability to simply…"_ he chuckled despite himself, sweat slicking down his face _"Pull himself together-"_ Sans chuckled too, also despite himself. The corners of his mouth turned down as he watched, his eyes going dark. _"After stitching his soul back- WAH!"_ he jumped backed as the threads lashed where he was just moments ago. A swift movement of his hands brought an odd floating skull of sorts. It opened its mouth, Gaster's eyes glowing blue and orange. A light grew in the skull's mouth but then suddenly stopped. His lowered his hand, tearing up. He turned and looked at the camera and smiled sadly. _"Sorry I did this to you. Don't….Don't feel too bad. Alright?"_

Sans turned the TV off. He sighed and put his hands back into his pockets. Alphys frowned.

"So Gaster did that to you." She summarized, tip-toeing around all the other questions she wanted answers to. "Some sort of experiment, apparently. Er… He used a bone attack."

Sans shrugged "yeah…gaster was a skeleton. like me and papyrus."

"Was-" Alphys cut herself off. She frowned. "Sans-"

"he's gone." Sans said. "i cut it off before you can see, but he's gone."

Alphys fidgeted "…N-no one asked where he went?"

"no one remembers him."

Her eyes widened "What- How d-does that even h-happen? How does no one remember him?"

Sans shrugged. "i accidentally kind of erased him from reality."

Alphys just stared at him a long moment. Sans fidgeted.

"so… anyway… uh…yeah. i can look for his research notes if that'd help." He offered. Alphys nodded with a slight frown.

"Sans, the lab on the screen… it's not the one we're in now."

"nope." Sans shrugged. "this room is pretty much just the garage." Alphys fidgeted, playing with her claws. She wanted to ask, but maybe it was no place of her's? But she was so, so curious….

"Where is it?" she blurted the question out before she could stop herself. Sans didn't seem phased.

"there's some locked doors in the True Lab, right?" he said "have you ever been in them-"

"YOU KN-KNOW ABOUT T-T-THE TRUE L-LAB!?" Alphys shrieked, biting her claws. Sans blinked and then sighed.

"yeah. i know about the True Lab. i know about the amalgamates too."

Alphys didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to say, what to think-

"dogandgy wishes you'd play with them more." Sans commented nonchalantly. "but they say they're fine with me" he winked "throwing them a bone."

Aphys yelped, tears pricking at her eyes as she yelled:

"SANS STOP UNDER-REACTING TO EVERYTHING!"

"k."

"YOU JUST DID IT AGAIN!"

"yep."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **So is this chapter plot-heavy or not too plot heavy? I can't tell. (Also managed to update on time again! Yay!)**

 **TimeTurnerJasmy** **\- Really? Too soon? Huh. Oh well. Also I did do the thing with Mettaton. Because it was funny. X3**

 **TheDeuctionist-** **Your enthusiasm for my fanfiction fills me with DETERMINATION.**

 **Ilovecartoonsgirl- I feel like that sums Mettaton up. He's hilarious and insensitive. I think the only exceptions to that are Napstablook and Alphys.**

 **Frisk Dreemur-** **Spelunking. Your turn!**

 **Comickatsu- Your love for puns fills me with DETERMINATION**

 **StarStreakedSky- Curses. You've seen through the facade.**

 **Tra La La, Sans's indifference fills Alphys with FRUSTRATION.**


	7. Chapter 7

Alphys chewed on her claws, staring at Sans with wide eyes.

"Y-y-you k-k-k-k-k-know a-b-b-out the-the true l-l-lab!?" She stammered hysterically, her tail wrapping around herself as her senses began to restrict themselves to a small bubble around her. Sans gave a tired sigh and gently pushed her tail away from her.

"yes. and I'm not mad." Sans said bluntly. His eye sockets started to glow brightly, but gently "i listened to your logs. i know you didn't mean for that to happen."

"B-b-b-but-" she curled further in on herself.

"Alphys. Look at me." Sans prompted. Not sternly, rather a sluggish suggestion. She looked up timidly, tears blurring her image of his face. His grin grew wider "There. Good. It's just me, okay?" He slowly moved his hands back "Okay?" Sans began to lower his hands but they didn't get too far before Alphys's claws wrapped around them and brought them back.

"S-s-sorry-" she stammered, clutching his hands to her chest, arching her head over them. Sans let her and came closer.

"it's alright. i get it." Sans said gently, sitting right in front of her. Their knees touched as they sat across from one another. "so… have you seen any new animes?"

"E-er….yeah-" Alphys stammered. She sighed "S-Sans, w-we probably should ad-d-dress the pr-problem-…"

"you can't do that if you're having an anxiety attack." Sans pointed out. Alphys let go of his hands and wiped at her eyes. She took a few deep, deep breaths and clearly forced a smile that was clearly supposed to mimic one of Undyne's famous grins.

"No. I-I'm fine."

"are you?"

…

"NOPE!" she lurched foreward, clinging onto him. Sans didn't seem startled and simply returned the hug. She laughed hysterically, an odd mix of a chortle, sobs, and hiccups. "O-oh my god-…" she took in a wheezing breath before burrowing her face into the crook of Sans's skull and fluff of his hood. Again, for a while they just sat there, Alphys's sobs slowly fading away in favor of quiet snivels. Eventually, she spoke up again.

"I-I'm sorry S-Sans."

"what for?"

She sighed and moved away from him, wiping at her eyes. She took off her glasses and wiped them with the edge of her coat. "Th-this isn't about _me._ I-I shouldn't-"

"stop." Sans interrupted. "don't pull the whole 'i have no right to feel bad' thing with me. you were putting yourself through a lot to begin with and this whole situation just makes that worse." He winked "take it from me, it's no sin to take a break once and a while."

Alphys gave a light chuckle, despite herself. She took a deep breath again and stumbled onto her feet. Her bitter smile seemed genuine. "G-got it. Th-thanks-" her face turned a deep red suddenly. "Oh my god! S-s-sans I'm s-s-s-so sorry I didn't-" She did an…interesting, little dance and pulled her collar up, trying to hide her face with it. "OH MY GOD."

Sans didn't seem to care. He got up and dusted himself off before stuffing his hands back into his coat pockets. "well you seem better."

"SANS!" Alphys yelped. "You- y-you didn't f-f-feel awkward-!?"

Sans shrugged "this isn't an anime, Alphys. a hug doesn't equal romantic interest." He muttered under his breath "so don't get any ideas."

"I-I wasn't-!"

"wasn't talking to you."

"What?"

"anyway." Sans said. "you sure you good? i get it if you need a few more minutes."

Alphys shook her head "N-no. I'm fine."

"liar."

"I'm better than I was before."

"better." Sans shrugged. "if you're feeling up to it, we probably should go back. Pap's probably getting antsy by now."

Alphys gave a nod "Y-yeah." She fidgeted "B-but the True Lab…"

Sans gave a wink "whether you wanna tell them or not is up to you."

Alphys fidgeted. She took a deep breath and tried to speak without stammering "W-we need those notes."

Tried.

Sans's eye sockets widened in surprise. "woah. really?"

"Y-yes." Alphys swallowed nervously. She clearly was uncomfortable "We-we c-can tell them-" she trailed off a moment "We have to- t-to help you."

Sans stared at her a moment. He then laughed a little. "well. if you're sure. can't say I expected you to give up any of your secrets for my sake."

Alphys gave a forced grin and an even more forced tone of sarcasm "W-well don't think it's just for you then." She attempted a wink. Clearly she was unfamiliar with it "I-I mean y-you can go nuts and kill everyone."

Sans grinned though the lights in his eyes faltered "yep. i guess i can."

They needed all the help they could get.

* * *

Sans was being juggled between Alphys and Papyrus.

Alphys had explained the True Lab, what she used it for, and why they had to go there. She was terrified, it was understandable, but Sans lent an oddly comforting and encouraging presence. When this was all over and done with, Alphys really hoped they could be friends again.

Papyrus listened with a patient silence, offering his assistance to quiet Undyne's random questions and comments. Sans wasn't much help with that, as it is his comments just made her even louder. But eventually the story was out and Alphys bowed her head, awaiting her judgement.

"SO WE CAN FIND OUT HOW TO HELP SANS THERE?" Papyrus's question had been one-track minded. Undyne followed suit, stating she would think about her opinion on the True Lab after 'the chance of sans killing everyone is gone'.

So they're in the lab walking down its dark and musty corridors. Papyrus clung onto the edge of Sans's right sleeve, Alphys clung onto his left arm. Sans was in the middle, seemingly indifferent to the two while Undyne led the way.

None of the amalgamates had shown up yet. They were probably scared of all the strangers in what might as well be their house. Alphys cringed whenever they walked past one of the mounted logs, expecting one of them to listen to it in their curiosity. Apparently Sans already listened to them, but that didn't ease the feeling of terror in her stomach.

"Is this the door?" Undyne asked, looking back over her shoulder. Sans shook his head and they kept going. "How about this door?" another shake of his head indicated 'no'. "This one?" and Sans shook his head again and Undyne asked again and Sans answered 'no' again and this went on for maybe twenty minutes.

"here it is." Sans said in front of a wall.

The three other monsters exchanged looks and then directed their gazes toward where Sans was standing, slightly angle toward the said wall.

"There's nothing there." Undyne huffed.

Sans winked and tapped on the door twice, waited, another tap, waited, and then tapped twice again. A low _beep_ was heard and the door bulged outward, revealing the wall to actually be a panel. It slid over, opening up a hidden hall.

"usually you have to do this annoying puzzle involving bubbles and how many beds and fans there are, but this works too." Sans said. He motioned into the corridor, indicating them to go ahead. After a moment or two of silence, Undyne stormed down the hall. Alphys followed timidly, casting Sans a glance as she passed. Papyrus took a step foreward but stopped, his empty eye sockets gazing down the dark hall. The footsteps of the girls slowly became muffled by the dust and dark.

The brothers were left alone in the hall.

"what's up bro?" Sans asked, putting his hand back into his pocket.

"…WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS BEFORE?" Papyrus asked after a moment, tilting his skull downwards to look at his older brother.

"tell you what?" Sans blinked.

" _WHAT!?"_ Papyrus snapped, throwing his arms in the air. They sweeped down in an arch and motioned toward him "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOU!? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS PLACE, ABOUT YOUR SOUL, ABOUT HOW YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH THAT BEFORE-" his voice caught on his last word and his volume dropped, his arms and shoulders following suit. Sans's eye sockets widened and he took a step forward, his right hand leaving the security of his pocket and reaching toward his brother.

"P-pap, it had nothing to do with you-" he said.

"Sans, you're my brother." Papyrus said. "I-I just-" magical tears seeped out of his sockets and somewhere in their depths a white light flared up. "Sans, do you think I can't help you with this?"

Sans didn't respond immediately. When he spoke, his voice was low. "I…" he looked away "Papyrus, I didn't tell you because I _already did_." He turned his grin up as blue began to tinge the edge of his sockets "It makes no sense, I know. I know- just- just…." He looked away again and toed at the dust with his slipper. "Please just…. Trust me on this?"

Papyrus looked at him a long moment. And that's all he did. And all Sans did was toe the dust with his foot. Somewhere deeper in the lab, they heard a gargled bark. It echoed. They still stood there.

Quietly.

Dust swirled.

Papyrus dropped to his knees and pulled Sans into the tightest hug of his life.

"OKAY, BROTHER. I'LL TRUST YOU." Papyrus said.

Sans returned the hug and nestled his face in between Papyrus's skull and shoulder. "thanks. i'll explained to you when i can. I promise."

 _*DETERMINATION_

* * *

"U-undyne?" Alphys stammered, looking back. "I-I-I think Papyrus and Sans are still out there."

"I _KNOW."_ Undyne muttered. She kept walking. Alphys jumped a little, surprised by the sudden rise of her voice.

"E-er-…. Okay…" Alphys trailed off, shifting her feet and fidgeting with her claws. She continued to shuffle after Undyne, her tail dragging uncomfortably through the thick carpet of dust. They walked for a while in near-silence. Back at the mouth of the corridor Papyrus's voice echoed, spreading across the walls like cracks in glass. He sounded…angry. But a type of desperate, guilt-ridden, angry. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

"W-what do you t-t-think they're t-talking about?" Alphys asked timidly, desperate for both an answer and to break the silence. A low mutter was Undyne's response. "Wh-what?"

"I _SAID_ Papyrus is probably finally giving Sans a mouthful!" she snapped, turning so suddenly Alphys almost ran into her legs. "Like he _SHOULD BE!"_ She glowered down at Alphys, her red eyes gleaming eerily in the darkness. Her lips were parted at the corner of her mouth, curled up in a snarl to reveal her fangs.

Alphys was suddenly reminded of how much bigger Undyne was.

"E-er yes?" Alphys agreed meekly, tears blurring her vision of Undyne's eyes as the yelling down the hall became louder.

Something in Undyne's expression shifted. Alphys couldn't see it well through the blur of tears in her eyes that clouded up her glasses. Through the fog she could see was her lips relaxed, the shine of her eyes looking to the side. She knelt down to look at Alphys at eye-level.

Gently she reached forward, took Alphys's glasses off and wiped them with the edge of her shirt.

"I'll be honest." The warrior said quietly, focusing her eyes on the simple task in front of her. "I want to yell at you, too. But I know that won't work."

Alphys didn't respond. It felt as if something was caught in her throat, strangling her. She felt her heart began to beat quickly and her breath quicken into a panic attack. Claws tensed to her chest and she was suddenly reminded of how Sans had helped her earlier. She clung to that comforting thought of his hands.

Her vision suddenly sharped and she felt her glasses being slid back onto her face. And with the sharpening of her vision she saw Undyne's gentle smile, the careful tilt of her head.

"I don't want to make you upset, Alphys." She said quietly. Slowly she took Alphys's claws into her hands and folded her fingers in between them "I just need to know why you didn't tell me about this. I know you. This lab probably haunts the living hell out of you. And you didn't tell me? I could've helped somehow!" her voice rose near the end of her sentence but she cut herself off. Her chest rose and fell as she took a deep breath. "…Why didn't you tell me?"

Tears clouded Alphys's glasses again. "I-I th-th-th-though y-y-you'd h-hate m-m-mee-" she hiccupped through her sentence. Undyne let out a sharp bark of laughter and forced her into a tight hug.

"You MORON! You couldn't MAKE me hate you even if you WANTED!" She yelled in a very Undyne-like fashion. Alphys clung onto her and cried from both relief, fear, and a new spark of hope.

They held onto eachother for awhile, neither willing to let go until-

"ARE WE INTERUPTING SOMETHING?" Papyrus said.

Undyne punched him in the chest(plate).

"NO! I HAVE NO EMOTIONS! BESIDES RAGE!" Undyne howled, her oddly long tongue curling up into the air. Alphys giggled a moment before a skeletal hand offered her a hankercheif. She turned a bit and saw Sans give a wink as he waved it in front of her.

Alphys smiled and took the rag.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **WOWIE ZOWIE! WHAT A LONG CHAPTER!**

 **Actually it was supposed to be longer, ending with the first redacted log but then those fluff-filled hurt/comfort things showed up and that last line was too perfect to not leave off on. And might I just say that I find Undyne INCREDIBLY hard to write? I think I (barely) pulled it off.**

 **Okay Alphys had a panic attack early on. That's what I needed to do. Listen, I'm usually awfully comedic but that revelation to someone like Alphys is not something that could be shrugged off with a 'she tried' joke (although that still made it in there. Look back, only one chapter so far doesn't have that joke in it). And when I first wrote this chapter I was like '….Undyne and Papyrus are too chill about this'. So. Yeah. Confrontation was needed. …Personally I like the Alphyne this chapter.**

 **(A/N/N: Undyne was originally going to say:** "Oh Alphys, I would never hate you" **but then I realized Undyne's not a disney prince and she'd never say it like that.)**

 **Response to Reviews:**

 **TheDeuctionist-** **The answer is Sans. Yep. Be scared for him**

 **Cosmickatsu \- ****There WILL be more tapes. But from who? Hmmm…**

 **Hello Anyone There \- ****Yep. Someone is here. And I'm so happy your enjoying this story so much! And I'm so, so happy you got that Gaster did care for him! But was still horrible. Honestly I was afraid no one would get that.**

 **Frisk Dreemur \- ****Axolotl. It's an animal, I call it the Mudkip-Salamander.**

 **Tra la la, Dreemur wakes and Dreemur sleeps but which one who claims his soul keeps?**


	8. Chapter 8

Eventually they reached a room.

With three doors.

All locked.

"OH GOD DAMN-" Undyne howled

"beaverdam." Sans interrupted, his eyes darting toward Papyrus as a warning. Papyrus wasn't paying attention to either of them and was instead looking around the room.

"SO…WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?" he asked.

"A key?" Alphys suggested. Her eyes darted to Sans "Or…maybe notes?"

"tapes could work too. anything that has records." Sans said, beginning his search. "if you find a key, don't use it. it'll probably kill you. gaster was pretty secretive like that." He opened a random drawer lazily, took a brief glance inside, then lightly pushed it shut. It settled slightly askew and Sans did nothing to fix it.

"How would a _KEY_ kill us?" Undyne muttered, beginning to flip over a table.

"the key itself won't. though they are superconductors. one touch to the electrified locks and you're dead." Sans explained. He picked up a loose paper, found nothing under it, then dropped the sheet again.

"Y-you don't look like you're trying too hard." Alphys muttered. She stooped down and began bundling stray papers, looking at them briefly to see if there was anything useful on them. Sans just shrugged.

Papyrus looked around the room, his eye sockets scanning the entirety of the room. He tilted his skull and thought a moment.

Then he climbed on top of Undyne's shoulders. She was thrown off balance for half a moment but regained it quickly and wrapped her claws around Papyrus's feet, balancing him.

"You got an idea?" she asked. Alphys and Sans looked up too.

"I THINK I MIGHT…" Papyrus said "IF GASTER WAS ANYTHING LIKE SANS, HE PROBABLY HID THE IMPORTANT STUFF ABOVE A CEILING PANEL."

"a ceiling panel? you're just being silly." Sans said, hoping no one noticed the sweat beading on his skull.

"NO I AM BEING BRILLIANT!" Papyrus grinned as he prodded the ceiling with the tips of his gloved fingers. "ALSO I READ YOUR DIARY."

"rude." Sans muttered.

"I THOUGHT THE PASSAGE ABOUT THE LADY BEHIND THE DOOR WAS ADORABLE!"

"ruder." Sans's face flushed a pale blue. "can we stop talking about this?"

"SURE THING, BROTHER." Papyrus chirped. "UNDYNE, CAN YOU MOVE BACK A BIT?" Undyne took two steps back and let Papyrus continue his search.

"Lady behind the door?" Undyne asked, eyeing Sans. "Who's that? Your girlfriend?"

"nah."

"JUST SOMEONE WHO HAS A BEAUTFIUL LAUGH." Papyrus said "ACCORDING TO SANS THAT IS."

"anyway, did you find anything yet?" Sans asked.

"NOT YET."

"WAIT!" Undyne snapped "I wanna hear more about-" Alphys put her hand on Undyne's arm gently, giving her a look that said 'please drop it'. She did. Not happily, but she did.

Papyrus poked and prodded at the ceiling for a little while longer. Sans and Alphys preoccupied themselves with picking up little things on the floor. Well… Alphys did. Sans sat on the ground and watched her.

"So w-wait…" Alphys blinked, she turned up toward Sans "If you can't unlock the doors, how do you go in or-" she swallowed, suddenly realizing the implication the finished question would bring up. She finished it anyway "…out?"

Sans shrugged. "dunno how gaster did it, but i just kinda….floop."

"Floop?" Alphys frowned.

"y'know. floop."

Alphys shook her head "No, I don't know. What does 'floop' mean?"

"well I guess for me it'd be more of a fwoosh."

"A fwoosh?" Alphys frowned "Sans you're making no sense-"

"well there's some different ways of instantaneous movement. You can floop or you could fwoosh." Sans said this as if it explained everything. "or sometimes it's a fwsh."

"What are y-you even t-alking about?" Alphys muttered, beginning to get annoyed.

"TELEPORTATION." Papyrus explained "UNDYNE CAN YOU MOVE A BIT TO THE LEFT?" she did.

"Wait, Sans can _teleport_?" Undyne asked loudly. She dragged out a sigh "That makes _SO_ much sense."

"Oh- teleport-" Alphys suddenly huffed. "Wait, so that text-"

"what text?" Sans winked. He looked up to Papyrus. "howsit going?"

Papyrus shook his head "I CAN'T FIND A THING. BUT FEAR NOT, BROTHER! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL NOT GIVE UP UNTIL I HAVE SEARCHED EVERYWHERE! UNDYNE, MORE TO THE LEFT!"

" _DO I LOOK LIKE A HORSE TO YOU!?"_ Undyne snapped. Papyrus seemed hardly phased.

"PLEASE?"

"Fine." Undyne muttered and complied.

"So…you can teleport, Sans?" Undyne asked.

Sans gave a shrug as a response "i guess."

"How does it work?" Alphys butted in before Undyne could say anything "Can you teleport anywhere? How far can you go? What does it feel like? Does it make you tired? Do you actually teleport or do you just move really fast? Do you see anything or is it just like 'bam here we are-?"

"it works like teleporting, no, pretty far, feels kinda like blinking, i'm always tired, teleporting is moving anywhere instantly, so i guess i do move fast, and things kind of go black for a moment and then I'm where i want to be." Sans said quickly "and that's enough questions."

Alphys flushed and ducked her head, poking her fingers together. "S-sorry."

" _MY TURN FOR A QUESTION!"_ Undyne snapped.

"yippee."

"Do you teleport away from me when I'm trying to watch you!?" she snapped. Papyrus windmilled his arms as she suddenly jerked underneath him.

"UNDYNE!" he yelled, flailing. Undyne remembered what she was doing and stood still, letting Papyrus regain his balance.

"yep."

Undyne grinded her teeth but resisted the urge to yell in a slight fear she might drop Papyrus. Sans chuckled under his breath.

"So…. A fwoosh?" Alphys asked meekly. "This is the last question. I promise."

"that's the sound i hear when i teleport." Sans said.

"How about the floop-"

"you said that was the last question."

Alphys sighed, getting the hint he was done talking.

"FOUND SOMETHING!" Papyrus chirped as a panel shifted. He carefully slid the panel to the side and reached into the ceiling. Carefully, he took down another…tape.

"huh." Sans said, tilting his head as his brother jumped down. Papyrus handed it to him and Sans looked at it a moment, turning it over a few times and then shoved it in his pocket. "hey alphys, do you have a VHS or something in here?"

"Y-yes." Alphys nodded. "This w-way. Come on."

It didn't take too long to get to where the VHS was. It was stashed underneath a television wedged between two bookcases. A log was mounted on the wall, but to respect Alphys's privacy they didn't listen to it. The small scientist fiddled with the tape for a moment before fitting it into the player. The ground stood back, Sans sitting on the ground with Papyrus kneeling next to him. Alphys fidgeted a bit but settled on the floor next to Sans, and Undyne dropped next to her.

The television buffered for a few moment, and when it played the static came on first. And that slowly shifted to a blurry image of black and white. Gaster's eyes came on screen, narrowed into a glare. The camera angled tilted and shifted a moment, audio being just the sound of static.

The eye sockets widened into a satisfied gaze and the speaker took a step back.

It wasn't Gaster.

"sup." The Sans on the video waved lazily and shoved his hand into his pocket "hey, uh, if you need to find this tape… well…." He looked to the side before his eye sockets went completely blank

" _Chances are you're gonna die."_

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 **Updating this on a Sunday this week. Why? Because honestly, I don't think I'll post on a Wednesday (I got a BIG test that day. Don't feel like thinking about this on top of taking that friggin 4-5 hour test.)**

 **So I hinted a bit at Soriel there. Why? Because I love that ship SO much. I guess I can understand why people don't ship it, some people interpret their ages to be way too far apart (I think Sans is around 32 and Toriel is in her early 40s) or just want Asgore and Toriel to get back together. But I'm (not) sorry, Toriel made it clear she doesn't want to get back together with him. And there's nothing wrong with that and there's nothing wrong with her getting with someone else. As I said in the AN in chapter 1, ships will be glanced over and not focused on.**

 **Mainly humor in this chapter. Why? Because the last chapter was mainly angst and fluff.**

 **So… yeah. Things are starting to get interesting?**

 **Replies to Reviews:**

 **Guest-** **Yippery-Dippery Bob!**

 **Frisk Dreemur** **\- Kaleidoscope.**

 **The Deductionist-** **How do you know it's not both?**

 **TimeTurnerJasmy-** **Oh man, did that come off more romantic than friendship? Crudmuffin sandwich…. Oh well, at least you like/acknowledged the Alphyne.**

 **Ilovecartoonsgirl-** **Oh thank goodness I got Undyne in character! I was really worried about that. Although I headcannon Sans USED to have a crush on Alphys, he no longer does (at least in my fics).**

 **Tra la la, Arrc ha Eer Murd**


	9. Chapter 9

" _Chances are you're gonna die."_

The Video-Sans coughed into his mittened fist and looked sheepishly to the side. "or….you already have." He shrugged "i can't predict the future. but before i go on, i'll give you a minute to get anyone you don't want to hear this out of the room…." The Sans on the video trailed off into silence, rocking on the balls of his heels.

Sans looked like we wanted to say something but was quickly noogied by Undyne.

" _YOU'RE NOT GETTING RID OF US, PUNK!"_ she snapped.

"I-I'm staying." Alphys said, setting her mouth into a determined pout. Papyrus said nothing but gave Sans a look.

He sighed and slouched and waited for VideoSans to speak again.

"…I'm assuming they stayed." He muttered after a minute. "fair enough. i mean, i don't know the situation." Sans cringed and they all knew why as Papyrus indicated, lightly touching the groove in his cheekbone. VideoSans continued "Anyway, if you actually need to watch this, chances are you forgot you recorded this, and therefore the chances are a lot of RESETS have occurred since now." The Video Sans winked "Y'know, we never remember _everything."_

Undyne, Alphys, and Papyrus all gave Sans a questioning look. Sans waved them off dismissively, indicating he'll either explain later or he'll not. The group had to settle for that and decided to pay more attention to the VideoSans.

"So…." The VideoSans fidgeted "I'll be blunt and tell you what I figured out. In short, we're a ticking time bomb. Our soul's time is not synced up with the timelines as we know them, and the constant skip-skop is making it all finicky. Our Soul's time is going in a perpetually straight line, which is why we remember more than most. But the jumping around is the equivalent to tying knots in a piece of string that's supposed to be straight. Our soul wants out. And with the destruction of our body it'll take the chance to try and rip us out of the timelines into its own. Unfortunately for us, that means we'll end up floating in a void of nothingness for all eternity. And to clarify for anyone else in the room, our soul isn't actually conscious. I'm just explaining it like that because it's easier." He shrugged as Alphys and Papyrus gave sheepish looks. "So…yeah…" sweat beaded on VideoSans's skull "Our soul is gonna be a bit….deadly, until we figure out how to make it…not. And since _I_ didn't figure it out yet and you're probably here in a desperate attempt _to_ figure it out….well…" He switched to a language none of them understood.

Except Sans.

[JUST LET YOURSELF DIE]

VideoSans shrugged and switched back to the more common language "welp. that's all i have to say." He winked. "see ya when you look in a mirror."

Then the video ended.

The group all looked at Sans, desperate for an explanation.

Sans sighed "so…yeah, a reset…." He rubbed at his skull "….well…." he clearly didn't want to talk about it. Usually, Papyrus would see this and insist he dropped it entirely, but this sounded like it was important to what was happening to them now. It sounded like it could help save his brother.

So, just this once, Papyrus was going to _make_ him talk.

Even though he felt bad about it.

"BROTHER." Papyrus said, trying to sound authoritive. It wasn't his cup of tea. Even with how great he was, he was much better at the scolding tone than the strict 'you have to tell me' tone. "SANS, THIS IS IMPORTANT-"

"Well according to the past-you or whatever-" Undyne interrupted, took over, and ignored Papyrus's audible sigh of relief "Your soul is FUC-"

"censor." Sans muttered. Undyne lightly shoved him, her lips parting in a snarl.

"FUCK CENSORSHIP! SANS YOUR SOUL IS FUCKED UP AND MIGHT EVEN KILL US!" Undyne snapped, getting to her feet. She sweeped her arm out in front of her, reminding Alphys of an anime protagonist. "If you know anything that can actually HELP us with this, we need to hear it!"

"well-" Sans started to reply.

"And it's not just YOU at stake!" Undyne snapped, making Sans go quiet "You heard the Past-You, your soul is DEADLY. That doesn't mean just to YOU." She dragged Papyrus over and pointed to the cut beneath his eye "I get the feeling THIS isn't the worst of what your fucked-up soul can do!"

Sans's eye sockets went dark but his grin stayed present. That was…an unnerving expression. Even Undyne took a step back, raising one arm protectively in front of Alphys.

"Papyrus, remember when I said I already told you?" Sans said, his voice having an eerie echo. Papyrus nodded slowly. "Well…. I guess I'm fulfilling my promise now." He muttered. Papyrus fidgeted with his gloves and said nothing. "Y'know… I hate making promises-" Slowly, the lights in his sockets flickered back dimly. "There's no point in them."

"SANS-"

"I'm not avoiding the question, Pap." Sans sighed. "I promised I'd tell you- and whatever few promises I make, I keep." He fidgeted slightly. Alphys and Undyne looked at eachother and Undyne slowly lowered her arm. They all waited for Sans to continue. He sighed again and looked around frantically "this is usually when something blows up and derails the conversation…."

But Nobody Came.

Sans shuddered. He shook his skull and took a deep skele-breathe. "Alright. A RESET is like…. Like a backwards skip in time. Things just go as they normally do when POOF!, it's a few weeks earlier." He fidgeted as they gave him skeptical looks.

"So….No one would really remember a RESET?" Alphys asked.

Sans shook his head.

"But YOU do?" Undyne question.

Sans nodded, after a moment.

Papyrus gasped "BROTHER, IS THAT WHY YOU'RE NEVER MOTIVATED- YOU'VE ALREADY DONE EVERYTHING BEFORE?"

No one said anything as they waited for Sans to respond. He slowly, slowly nodded.

They all stared.

"Sans-" Undyne frowned. A loud gurgling scream interrupted her and Alphys stood frozen.

" _Welcome to my special hell."_ Said the soft voice.

The speaker blocked the door.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Well looky-looky. Sans talked about the Resets and other Sans talked about Sans who didn't remember that Sans recorded a message for Sans about Sans. Sans-ception.**

 **Me oh my, so many reviews. Maybe I should post on Sundays more often? Well too bad! Posting on a Tuesday this week! Why?**

… **I really don't know.**

 **Responses:**

 **Guest- Your English is actually really good. Now I apologize so much for seeming rude, but whenever I read 'english isn't my first language' my first thought is 'what is your first language'? If you don't mind, can you tell me? I don't mean to sound rude I'm just curious. Well anyway, thank you for liking my story! And you're the third person I apparently got to ship Sans and Alphys. Though I ship Soriel. SO MUCH. I love those two together.**

 **Kiryma- Did you just want me to respond to you? It worked. Hiya! And also, don't tell anyone you know the big plot twist.**

 **AWESOMENESS- Because I find it entertaining. Also cliffhangers are usually when my brain just goes '…eh'.**

 **Frisk Dreemur-** **'Read'. Is it present tense or past tense? Can you know just by the word alone? It's so bizarre!**

 **TimeTurnerJasmy-** **My reference to your review is in the A/N itself. Also, thanks for being so mature about not having the same ship. Or should I say same 'sip' (get it? You said 'cup of tea'?)**

 **Comickatsu-** **Thanks for having the same ship! I love Soriel SOOOO much, but I'm still not going to focus on it. Romance is meant to be a subplot in my world (unless it's a ship-centric fic. I might post one of those in the future.)**

 **Nightowl75-** **Welcome to the fanfic and thanks for liking it! I hope I don't disappoint!**

 **Ilovecartoonsgirl-** **SSSPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKKKKKYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY~ And the answer is adorable. There's no tragic story why Sans doesn't have a crush on her anymore, it just kind of faded away. Nothing dramatic. And thank you for your wish of goodluck on my test! Sigh… The SATs take a lot out of you, huh?**

 **Starryskys102-** **Well, I'm sorry for the cliffhanger. I guess this chapter didn't help, huh? Well, I hope I don't disappoint!**

 **ScarkitTheMadaNeko-** **NOM NOM NOM**

 **TheDeductionist** **\- Me oh my. Well, I sure do like layering on the Plot-Frosting on this cake.**

 **Tra La La, Dogandgy wants you to throw him a… bone.**


	10. Chapter 10

Undyne had a spear forming in her hands almost instantly. Her eyes narrowed into a glare and her feet spread apart to dash. Papyrus stood still, unsure what to do and unsure if the creature was friend or foe. Alphys stood frozen, shivering as if grasped by an unknown cold. Sans yawned.

The creature in the doorway had large, sharp teeth and even larger eyes. Its body was similar to a slug, except with the sense of a _standing_ slug. Small clawed hands were pressed to its stomach and it bobbed slightly as its body shook and shuddered. Its voice was light and raspy and its eyes narrowed and gleaming.

Undyne glared before letting out a loud battle cry, throwing her spear back. Her arms outstretched she lunged to pierce the creature through its head-

Sans was balancing on the edge of the spear. He was kneeling down, hands still in his pockets, facing toward the creature.

"hey lemon bread." Sans said casually as Undyne stopped her attack. They all stared.

" _Hello Sans."_ It said, waving a hand. It peaked around him and looked at Undyne.

"you startled her." Sans explained. Lemon Bread nodded slowly.

" _Sorry."_

"Uh…" Undyne blinked. "It's alright….?" She lowered the tip of her spear, allowing Sans to step off before making it disappear entirely. She turned to Alphys, who ducked her head. Undyne shot Lemon Bread a big grin "Sorry for almost killing you."

" _It's s'alright."_ Its voice slurred and half of its face began to drip down the side of its face. Sans nonchalantly pushed it back up into place to which Lemon Bread shot a strange, grateful smile. The amalgamate turned to look at Alphys with its large eyes. _"Doctor Alphys-"_

"I'm sorry." Alphys said quickly, ducking her head. Lemon Bread tilted its head but didn't respond.

"She didn't mean for this to happen." Undyne said quickly, getting in between them.

"AND FOR THE RECORD, I THINK YOU LOOK AMAZING." Papyrus grinned, putting his hands on his hip(bones). Lemon Bread made a small squeak and looked away, covering its too-large face with its hands.

"oh, Pap." Sans blinked. He gave a wink. "i didn't think you were such a smooth-talker."

"PARDON?" Papyrus seemed incredibly confused. Sans gave a grin and nudged Lemon Bread gently.

"something up? you said the whole hell thing again." He said. The amalgamate made a slight squeak and squished its hands to its face.

" _I'm sorry- I'm sorry- That just slips out sometimes."_ It seemed genuinely distressed as it tried to cover its head with its hands. Sans's smile softened and he patted them on the head.

"it's okay, buddy. no one blames you." he said gently.

Alphys fidgeted and moved to hide behind Undyne. The warrior looked down on her with a slight frown.

"Alphys-"

"P-please don't-" Alphys stammered, suddenly interrupted. A hand was placed on her snout and she looked up to see Lemon Bread. The amalgamate creature forced a pained smile. Slowly, it sloshed its arms around the scientist's shoulders and leaned into a hug. Alphys stared at the wall over its shoulder and felt the familiar tinge of tears. Her vision blurred and she slowly lifted her hands to return the hug.

" _Thank you for helping us."_ They said.

"B-But I didn't- H-help-"

Lemon Bread shook their head. Their face distorted into a smile yet somehow their eyes looked kind. _"We're alive because of you."_ they began to slouched forward _"Thank you….."_ they said as they fell to the ground.

Alphys gasped and reached for them.

"Woah-!" Undyne yelped "Hey-"

"ARE THEY ALRIGHT!?" Papyrus screeched.

"calm down." Sans said, stepping over. "they're just sleeping. moving around so much tires them out."

"O-oh…" Alphys sighed in relief, shooting a smile up to Undyne. "They weren't- Th-they-" Her grin grew wider "They don't hate me."

"What'd I tell ya!" Undyne said with a grin, lightly slapping Alphys on the back "There's no way they can hate ya!" Alphys blinked back tears, quickly wiping them away with her sleeve. She looked over to Sans to share in a grin.

Papyrus walked between them, reach down, and carefully picked Lemon Bread up and cradled them in his arms. "DOCTOR ALPHYS-"

"Pap. volume." Sans said. Papyrus gave a sheepish nod and lowered his voice.

"Doctor Alphys, there are beds down here, correct?" he said quietly. Alphys nodded.

"Y-yes. This way." She walked out of the room and led Papyrus away as well. Undyne followed quickly and Sans began to trudge behind.

They stayed relatively quiet as they traversed the under-the-underground corridors, trying not to disturb Lemon Bread's sleep. Vaguely, the short skeleton noted that his companions were moving on further and further ahead of him. He suddenly stopped, leaning heavily against the wall. The edges of Sans's vision had hazed and he felt…. He felt something. From the center of his being, he felt-

Oh.

Strings.

He saw the glow of his soul as threads reached out slowly, wavering like wisps of flame. Muttering his disdain, he took a deep breath, lit up his left eye, and shoved his soul back into his body.

"not right now, buddy." Sans chuckled to himself. He waited until his vision cleared before walking slightly quicker to catch up with the group. On the way, he passed several mounted logs but paid them no mind. He listened to them too many time than he care to count. So, like, anywhere past ten. They opened up to him as he passed and not a single one diverted him from his path.

Until he caught a smiling face out of the corner of his eye. He turned quickly, beginning to lift his left hand instinctively. But it seemed like maybe, just maybe, his anxiety was beginning to catch up with him. The log was just as it normally was. Sans forced a slow breath, lowering his hand into his pocket and smothering the glow of magic in his eye.

Trembling, he backed to the wall and slid down it. "just a minute." He muttered, putting his head in his hands. He breathed slowly, trying to calm himself. He was true to his word, only waiting a minute before climbing back onto his feet and walking briskly after his friends. He got to the intersection before the room with the beds when he was tackled.

"woah. easy." He said. The large white mass pinned him to the ground, slobbering over his skull and frantically wagging its long dripping tail. It jumped off of him, turned in a semi-circle and crouched playfully, its tail going a hundred miles an hour. Sans chuckled under his breath and materialized a bone long enough for the creature to easily carry in its mouth. "fetch." He said, tossing it lazily. Dogandgy ran after it, picked it up in its strange unseen mouth and scampered back over to Sans, dropping it into his outstretched hand. Sans flicked the slobber off and threw it again. Dogandgy fetched it again. This repeated several more times.

"Oh _there_ you are, Sans." Undyne growled, putting a hand on her hip, standing slightly behind him and to the left. She raised a fish-brow skeptically "Papyrus thought you died again- What are you doing?" Sans just stood there with his hand outstretched, but he turned and gave a wink.

"wait."

"Wait for what-" she muttered before her eyes went suddenly wide. Dogandgy galloped toward them, paying Undyne no mind as it dropped the bone back into Sans's hand.

"can you throw it for a bit? i'm gonna go meet up with Pap." Sans asked, waiting maybe half a second before putting the slobbery bone in her hand and walking away "thanks. play nice." He was barely out of sight when he heard Undyne yell.

" _LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN FETCH THIS, MUTT!"_

"BARK!"

Followed by loud crashing noises. Sans chuckled to himself but knew not to worry. Dogandgy was a pro at fetch. Probably could catch all the spears in the world in its weird mouth-thing. It wasn't long until he reached the bed-room and saw Papyrus and Alphys looking down the hall he just came from in confusion.

"Is Undyne playing fetch?" Papyrus asked, keeping his voice low as to not disturb the amalgamate sleeping peacefully in the bed. His eye sockets lit up "Can I play too?"

"if you want, i guess." Sans shrugged.

Alphys poked her fingers together "Uh… Dogandgy?" Sans nodded. "Oh. That m-makes sense."

Papyrus looked wistfully down the hall before turning to look down at Sans. "Brother, can we talk?"

Sans would've made a face but the idea of putting that much effort into something exhausted him. "probably."

"Sans."

Sans cringed slightly at the tone of his baby brother's voice. He hated when Papyrus sounded….concerned. He shouldn't be concerned. No one as great as his little brother should ever need to be upset.

"alright." Sans said with a shrug. Papyrus shot a grateful grin and turned to Alphys. She nodded understandingly and went down a hall. After she was gone, Papyrus sat on one of the vacant beds and patted next to him, indicating for Sans to sit beside him. He did, half-jumping, half-climbing onto his designated area.

"So." Papyrus fidgeted. He clearly was having trouble speaking so quietly for so long "Have you ever told me about the RESETs?"

Sans winked "i just did."

Papyrus rolled his eye (sockets) and shook his skull. "I mean, before that. In a different reset-loop-thingy."

Sans shrugged "yeah. once or twice." The truth was more than he could care to count.

"Oh." Papyrus fidgeted. "Did I believe you?"

"yeah." Sans nodded. "you always believed me."

Papyrus grinned at that. "That's good. I'd hate to think I've been causing you more distress than you are already under."

"what? nah, i'm not stressed." Sans grinned.

Papyrus narrowed his eye-sockets, the corner of his grin twisting down. "I'm not stupid, Sans. I mean, I suppose I'm a bit-"

"thick-skulled?" Sans interrupted.

Papyrus groaned in response to the pun "Yes. Thick-Skulled. Anyway." He took a moment to regain his train of thought "I know I'm not smart, like you or Alphys. But I know you." He tilted his head. "I guess for you it seemed longer, but for me it was just a sudden… lack of effort." Sans offered no response. Papyrus sighed. "It scared me. I didn't know what was making you so upset, and I didn't know what I could do to fix it."

Sans's eyes sockets darkened.

"SANS-" Papyrus cleared his skele-throat, turned to see if Lemon Bread was still sleeping, then turned back and continued "Don't give me that look-"

"Pap, you said it was long for me and short for you, right?"

"Er….YES?" Papyrus blinked, thrown off guard and completely and utterly confused by his brother's train of thought.

"How quick was it for you to start being all extra-chipper?" he said.

"Er….FOR ME-" he cut himself off again "…or for you….?"

"For you." Sans said.

"… I dunno, pretty long?"

"But how could you have taken a long time to decide to be happier than usual for _my_ sake when I was suddenly lacking-in-effort _suddenly_?" he asked. The lights in his eyes blinked back on, sharp and blazing.

Papyrus was stumped. "I-"

"You don't know." Sans's grin widened "Exactly! It was somehow longer for you to become extra-great-Pappy than it was to realize I was slowing down or whatever." He jumped to his feet, turned to Papyrus and his grin grew wider. "Pap, that means you remember something! Even if you don't know it! You remember slowly gaining all that super-Pappy-ness throughout RESETs!"

Papyrus frowned "But I don't remember as much as you-"

"But you remember SOMETHING!" Sans grinned. "It was something vague, sure, but it was SOMETHING!"

"Sans, quiet down, you're going to wake Ms. or Mr. Bread."

"whoops. sorry." Sans said. He climbed back onto the bed and visibly relaxed, his shoulders slumping in a way they haven't in such a long time. He beamed a grin up at Papyrus. "thanks, Pap."

"Er… you're welcome?" Papyrus said. "I don't think I did anything, but you're welcome."

Sans laughed. "you probably don't understand how comforting it is. but it is. i'm not entirely alone in this-" He was pulled into a hug.

"Oh Brother, you were never alone."

"that's sappy, Pappy."

"Sorry."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Welp! Here's another chapter. Sans and Papyrus had another moment there. I hope I didn't write Papyrus out of character. I mean, this is supposed to be a semi-serious talk but Papyrus is…well, Papyrus. Did you follow the logic I used there? If not, message me and I'll elaborate for you.**

 **Response to Reviews:**

 **toolazyTooLogin-** **(Patrick voice) WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?**

 **Hagane-inu- Wow. That be a long review. Thanks! Er… Okay. The Possession AU? Like, Chara possessing Frisk or Flowey possessing either of the Skeleton Bros? Personally, I don't really have an opinion on it. My favorite Undertale AU is probably Aftertale, with Underswap being second.**

 **Happycamper- I don't think Pappy is completely innocent of everything ever.**

 **TheGuyWhoWatchesVideos- Whatever are you talking about? I made no such errors. (nervous sweating)**

 **AWESOMENESS- (Pearl Voice) I DO like Sans.**

 **ScarKitTheMadaNeko- I thought of saying "I knew you were in the True Lab and you just died to that. That's why I wrote it. I'm always watching you, seeing what you do. That was it. That was my subtle plea for you to acknowledge me." But then I realized that that is creepy.**

 **Loud Clapping Guest- Do you not like cliffhangers?**

 **Ilovecartoonsgirl- …Oh boy… Er… Was it too quick? I wanted to kind of space it out. I mean,... oh. Sorry then. I guess it could've been more dramatic. …I guess Mettaton could've shown up and sung a song or kill Sans again or something. Haha. Oh… (turns in napstablook) This review kind of made me slow this chapter down a bit. Not pointing fingers! Just you made a good point and this has just kind of gone too quickly. So I'm trying to slow it down a bit.**

 **Guest Number 2- I cannot post faster. If I post faster I can't address as many reviews.**

 **TheDecutionist- I honestly don't know how to respond to this but I've addressed your reviews in every chapter since I started to respond to reviews. So. Hi?**

 **Comickatsu- SPPPOOOOOOOOKKKKYYY**

 **TimeturnerJasmy- …Awkward Tension? Like, bad awkward tension or good awkward tension?**

 **Happycamper- Woo boy. Papyrus is fun to write, but for serious moments he is a PAIN. Like I love him and all but there's such a fine line for what he'd say and what he wouldn't say.**

 **Tra La La, Alphys is having a little chat with a plot plant.**


	11. Chapter 11

Alphys walked down the mirrored hall, listening to the sound of her claws unsettling the dust. The sounds of Sans and Papyrus's murmuring faded into mumbles in the distance. She tried to avoid glancing to either side of herself. To her left was mirrors across the whole wall, creeping her out with the full length of her body skulking down the hall like a theif. To the right, tables were completely covered with….golden flowers…

Her eyes widened and she stopped walking and held her breath.

Down the hall a small yellow flower was poking out in between the cracks of the concrete. Its head was tilted up toward the wall, petals flicking as it seemed to listen intently.

"So I just kill him a few more times?" it said.

" **Kill him and kill him. Again and again."** Responded the voice, crackling from what Alphys had realized came from one of the mounted logs.

"Until what?"

" **Come on, Azzy. Don't you trust me?"** cooed the voice.

The plant tilted its head, seemingly gnawing on its lip before shaking its head. "Of course I trust you, Chara."

" **I'm so happy to hear that!"** chirped the voice **"I'm so happy you still trust me after all this ti-"** the voice cut off and static crackled as the glow of lights blinked off.

Suddenly, the flower straightened upwards and violently twisted its head to glower at the small scientist. Its eyes both darkened and lit up at once as a sinister smile crept across its face.

"Howdy, Doctor Alphys!" said Asriel- No. Not Asriel. "It's me! Flowey! Flowey the Flower!"

"H-h-hi-" Alphys trembled. "F-flowey."

"Howdy." Flowey smiled. "How ya' doing?" he grinned.

Alphys shook, unsure how to respond.

"Well, I see you're talkative." Flowey chirped, tilting its head with a happy grin.

"Kill who?" Alphys blurted out, not thinking straight. She slapped her claws over her mouth and took half a step back. Half of Flowey's face rose upward, his lips parting to bare his disturbingly sharp teeth.

" _Kill who, you ask?"_ said the plant. It cackled _"WELL YOU HEARD THAT MUCH."_

Alphys decided not to stick around. She could take a good guess. She turned on heel and began to dart back towards the bedroom, hearing Sans's voice grow louder. Her claws slapped across the ground as she broke into a half-sprint. It didn't last long. A vine wrapped around her ankles and she fell onto the ground as dust swirled up around her. It got into her nose and sprinkled across her eyes. She started to hack uncontrollably and wiped desperately at her eyes as tears streamed down her face. Vines tightened around her ankles and dragged her back into the dust. She dug her claws into the concrete in a desperate attempt to pull free. Marks were scraped into the age tile, but other than that her efforts showed no effect. Another vine rose up threw the ground and tied itself around her snout. She clawed at the vines futilely as they lifted her above the ground by her jaw.

" _You sure are nosey, ay doc?"_ Flowey sneered. _"Let's see how nosey you are after I S_ N **A** _ **P Y**_ O _U_ _ **R**_ N _E_ **C** _K!"_

Another vine swung down from the ceiling and lashed at her neck, wrapping around it painfully. With each coil tears were wrung out of her eyes. She wheezed, desperatley clawing at the noose. The edges of her vision began to haze over. Breathing became harder. Thinking became more difficult.

The sounds of Flowey's sadistic cackling begun to overlap, twisting and weaving with the sound of Sans becoming progressively more excited. She tried to call out. Call out for anyone. Call out for help.

…

 ***But nobody came.**


	12. Chapter 12

Sans kicked his feet, humming lightly to himself as he listened to the sound of Papyrus and Undyne running about with Dogandgy, playing fetch. He felt oddly… light. Giddy. Happy? Not quite 'happy'. But… relieved. Incredibly relieved. And that made him happy.

He slowly swayed his head left and right, keeping in time with his tune. Lemon Bread snored lightly, her light breath accenting his song. In his mind, it made it happier.

But…

He looked down the hall Alphys had disappeared some time earlier. Slowly, his feet stopped their erythematic kicking and his skull stilled. He kept his eye sockets trained on the mouth of the hall that suddenly seemed so much larger, so much…emptier, than it was.

…

He shook his head and trained his gaze back onto his slippered feet. They began to kick again, but with a bit less…bounce.

He suddenly straightened up. Did he… Did he imagine it?

It sounded so soft, it sounded like it wasn't even enough to be considered a whisper. It was… Was it-….?

It wouldn't hurt to check. Sans swung his feet off the bed and headed towards the hall. On the way, he passed Lemon Bread, whom he gave a light pat as he walked by. Another quiet not-even-a-whisper brushed through his skull and he hastened his pace. He ignored his reflection in the wall-length mirrors. He ignored the golden flowers to his right. He didn't notice the flickering reflection of a child following him, eyes glowing red in the dustiness.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks when he noticed the vines. They crept down the walls, across the ceiling. Around a small, yellow form-

"ALPHYS!" Sans screamed. He threw his left hand up, lit up his eye socket and bombarded the noose with narrow, sharpened bones. They skewered the vines, reducing them to frays of ropes and dropping Alphys's body to the floor. Sans ran forward, skidding to his knees to hold up the scientist. She was completely still. "Alph?"

Alphys coughed coarsely, her chest spasming as she struggled to breathe. Sans beamed a grin briefly before gently lowering her back onto the ground.

"hang on, alph. i'll be right back." he said. "i got to do some weeding here."

" _Oh how kind of you."_ said the referred plant. Sans's eyes lit up blue. Both.

He didn't notice.

" _The Smiley Trashbag."_ Chirped the voice _"How noble to rush in to save your friend._ _ **WHEN YOU'LL DIE."**_

Flowey cackled wildly as little white 'friendliness pellets' began to surround him. Sans put his hands in his pockets, looking around lazily before the attacks were blasted away by a wall of blue magic.

Flowey's smile dropped.

"Eh?"

"Don't feel like dealing with you, sprout." Sans muttered. Dragon-like skulls materialized out of thin air and their jaws opened. A powerful light begun to spin in its mouth, working only for seconds before blasting of fire out of its mouth. Flowey let out a loud, startled shriek as it quickly slid out of the way. The blast hit the edges of two of its petals and reverted them to burnt, curling crisp.

"AH!" Flowey shrieked, curling over on himself "OW! OW!" he spat out several curse words before burrowing into the ground with a quiet, slight noise.

…

 _Floop._

"hahahaha…." A soft chuckle broke the silence. Sans lowered his arm and went back to kneeling next to his friend. He put an arm behind her shoulder and gently lifted her up. Sans tilted his head and plastered on his best, kind-of-comforting grin. Alphys forced open her eyes and the corners of her lips lifted slightly into a tired smile. "I get the 'floop' thing now." She said softly.

Sans chuckled "Yeah. Plants floop. Skeletons fwoosh."

Alphys laughed softly and sunk deeply into the fluff of Sans's coat. She went limp.

"alph?" Sans blinked, feeling his…er, figurative heart sink. He lightly shook her. "alph? come on, alphy. get up. say something. not funny." He shook her a few more times. Suddenly he felt cold on his chest and he lifted Alphys up in the air, bridal style. Sans knew he was stronger than he looked, being able to carry Alphys with relative ease. But he felt so, so weak as he ran back to the bedroom. "UNDYNE! PAPYRUS!" he yelled.

They ran into the room the same moment he did.

"Alphys!" Undyne screeched. She ran forward and scooped he scientist out of Sans's arms. "Sans, what happened!?"

"she got attacked-"

"EXPLAIN LATER." Papyrus waved him off. He looked at her through Undyne's arms, sweat slicking down his skull. "CAN YOU PUT HER ON THE BED OVER THERE?" Undyne shook her head, setting her mouth into a determined frown. "OKAY. BUT SIT ON THE BED." She did that, clutching onto Alphys almost fearfully. Papyrus mumbled under his breath, apparently reciting something "I KNOW A LITTLE BIT OF HEALING MAGIC, IT'S NOT MUCH, BUT-"

" _STOP EXPLAINING AND JUST DO IT!"_ Undyne snapped. Papyrus nodded in response, took of his gloves, and set his hands above Alphys's bruised neck. A soft orange light shone from his hands and slowly, the bruise faded slightly. Her breathing became deeper, more stable. Sans looked to Alphys, then to Papyrus, and that repeated several times as he silently argued with himself who to fret over. Lemon Bread woke up from all the commotion, and was now dabbing Papyrus's forehead with a wet rag that a creature that looked similar to Snowdrake had brought over. Dogandgy was in the corner, shuffling its paws in worry. They were all silent except for the sound of Papyrus's magic, Alphys's fickle breathing, and the slow tick-tock of a distance clock.

It wasn't until she softly said something that they relaxed. Sans gripped Papyrus's wrist and gently pulled him back. The younger brother stopped his magic and slouched, panting slightly at the exertion. Lemon Bread offered him a glass of water which Papyrus accepted with a grateful smile. Sans patted him on the back.

"you okay, bro?"

"YES BROTHER, I'LL BE FINE." Papyrus said "WOWIE! I'M CERTAINLY GREAT."

"sure are, bro." Sans grinned.

"Alphys?" Undyne said. The lizard in question muttered something again and slowly opened her eyes. When Undyne grinned down on her, she scrunched up her face in confusion and looked around the room until she spotted Sans. She struggled out of Undyne's hold, much to Undyne's displeasure, and hurried over to him.

"S-sans!" she stammered, coughing wildly into her hands.

"woah." Sans blinked, reaching to support her. "calm down alph. you almost died there-"

"S-sans they're g-going to tr-try and kill you!" she shrieked, breaking down into a coughing fit. Undyne quickly was kneeling by her, letting Alphys lean against her shoulder as she gently gripped her. Lemon Bread squeaked in fear and looked at Snowdrake-Look-Alike, who attempted a comforting smile. Dogandgy nuzzled Sans affectionately, getting behind him and pricking its ears.

"WHO'S TRYING TO KILL SANS?" Papyrus asked, looking around as if the culprit was around the corner.

Alphys shook her head "Th-the flower- er- s-said-" she coughed, struggling not to cough. Undyne rubbed small circles on her back.

"Breathe, Alphys." She muttered.

"Fl-Flowey m-mentioned 'Chara'-" Alphys said as she broke down into another fit.

Sans froze. His eye sockets went blank.

"CHARA?" Papyrus asked, oblivious to his brother's plight.

Undyne furrowed her fish-brows, frowning. "Chara, Chara…. Isn't that the name of the first human who fell down?"

"OH, YES!" Papyrus chirped "THE KING'S DAUGHTER, RIGHT?"

Alphys nodded "Y-yeah. B-but-"

"WAIT, SHE'S GONNA KILL SANS?" Papyrus frowned.

Alphys nodded again "And s-so i-is Flowey- er… a fl-"

"WHAT? FLOWEY IS GONNA HURT SANS?" Papyrus frowned. The lights in Sans's eyesockets came back on and he, as well as Alphys, gave the younger brother a questioning look.

"You know Flowey?" Undyne asked.

"OF COURSE I DO!" Papyrus grinned. He put his hands on his hips and posed dramatically. Lemon Bread grabbed the end of his scarf and waved it about like a cape for him. "FLOWEY IS MY FRIEND!" he frowned and dropped his arms. Lemon Bread dropped his scarf "OR AT LEAST, I THOUGHT HE WAS."

"pap." Sans frowned. He forced a grin "eh, I'm sure he is-"

"Papyrus, he tried to kill me." Alphys said, her words overlapping Sans's.

Papyrus looked shocked. And then mad. He crossed his arms and stomped his foot angrily "THAT IS INCREDIBLY RUDE! WELL SURPASSING RUDE, I MIGHT EVEN SAY! FEAR NOT, DOCTOR ALPHYS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL RIGHT THIS WRONG! FLOWEY WILL FEEL THE FULL WRATH OF MY SCOLDING-NESS."

He continued to ramble on in this manor for several minutes, the amalgamates listening intently.

"So….Who's Flowey?" Undyne asked. Alphys poked her fingers together.

"In short, a sentient, killer flower."

"Oh. So, not a friend." Undyne muttered. Sans shook his head.

"not in the slightest."

Undyne shot the small skeleton a cynical look, which he returned. "what?"

"You were going to tell Papyrus that Flowey _was_ his friend, weren't ya?" Undyne growled.

Sans shrugged "eh. just so he wouldn't be upset-" he was cut off by being picked up and noogied.

" _STOP BABYING HIM, HE'S A DAMN ADULT!"_ Undyne howled. Sans warped out of her hold, balancing on her head with his hands in his pockets.

"HEY, ARE ANY OF YOU LISTENING TO ME?" Papyrus pouted. Lemon Bread and Snowdrake-alike rose their stubby hands, Dogandgy barked in confirmation. "OH. THANK YOU." Papyrus nodded to his audience.

" _GET OFF MY DAMN HEAD!"_ Undyne hissed, frantically swiping at the small skeleton.

"come on, undyne." Sans winked "i'm just trying to get… a head, in life." He chuckled as Undyne screeched in rage. Snowdrake-alike laughed and Lemon Bread tilted their head as Dogandgy slapped its paws against the ground to mimic clapping. Sans made a show of bowing.

Alphys had climbed onto one of the beds and decided to take a nap until everyone decided to take things seriously.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **WOWZA you guys were NOT happy with the last chapter. I'm sorry? It's okay though, I didn't kill Alphys! See! She's alive and all that! Ah yes, return of the humors. Hahahaha….. I like writing humor in between soul-shattering moments. Updating on a Tuesday again. For no reason other than I don't want you guys to be mad at me anymore. I love you. Please take me back.**

… **.Yeah, I pretty much responded to all your reviews in the AN there. Actually, speaking of responses: for those people I can PM, can I reply to your reviews like that? Thanks!**

 **Tra la la, Friends in Ruins**


	13. Chapter 13

"chara…the king's daughter…" Sans murmured to himself.

They all had calmed down a bit. Papyrus, now confronting the potential cruel nature of someone he had believed to be his friend, had had his spirits dampened somewhat. He tried not to let it get him down. Undyne sat listening to Alphys's guesses as to why or how Chara would try to destroy Sans. She couldn't come up with any answers that made sense. Papyrus bounced his knee restlessly, becoming increasingly more impatient to do something. Snowdrake-alike had wandered off a while ago, supposedly going to a 'cold room'. Dogandgy had gotten bored and also ran off, and Lemon Bread had fallen asleep again.

"SHOULD WE GO BACK TO THE WEIRD ROOM?" Papyrus asked. They all looked at him.

"Oh…Oh!" Alphys stumbled to her feet "Y-yeah! The room w-where we f-found Sans's tape!"

Sans shrugged "worth a shot. might have something there."

"Something else Sans recorded, maybe?" Undyne asked. "I mean, we kinda glanced over the possibility he might have taped something else."

"Oh." Alphys shrugged sheepishly "Y-yeah. We k-kinda did, huh?""

Sans shrugged "not likely. i mean, we could look, but it's not likely."

"WELL IF WE CAN'T FIND ANYTHING THAT SANS RECORDED, WE COULD GO INTO ONE OF THOSE DOORS AND LOOK MORE." Papyrus said.

"W-we can't get into those d-doors, though." Alphys frowned.

" _I'LL JUST KICK THEM DOWN!"_ Undyne declared, parting her feet and seemingly punching the air.

"ALSO SANS CAN WARP." Papyrus suggested "AND JUST OPEN THE DOORS FROM THE INSIDE."

"Oh. Yeah, that'd work too." Undyne nodded, seemingly satisfied. Sans shrugged his agreement and Alphys smiled a bit.

They went back to the room down the exceedingly long hallway, back to the mess of papers and drawers they were in earlier. The three doors stood as they had before. Unknown. Sans shuddered then took a subtle breathe.

"k. be back in a sec." he said. They nodded and he teleported into the door on the left. He knew this was where Gaster had done most of his research. Walking in the room, he tried not to look at the table he had been latched onto. Instead, he chose to remember how he marveled at the place the first time he had been there. Somehow, the inside of the rooms were so much bigger than what the doors were suggest. Down to the back of the room was a stair case that led to an upper level. Sans clambered up the stairs and stood in the doorframe of a small, small room. A single bed was pushed up against a wall, a desk parallel to it. Papers and books littered it. A small toppled chair, wooden and broken, was decaying against the floor. Out of a habit resurfaced, Sans picked the chair up and set it straight, then organized the papers and books on the desk. On one, a child's drawing in blue crayon smiled up at him. Two people, one tall and slender, the other short and stocky, grinned together in a field of echo flowers.

 _Sans and Dr Gaster: Science Buds Forever._

Sans chuckled to himself and burned it.

Sighing, he decided that that was enough of memory lane and went back down the stairs.

Quickly, he located the door and turned the knob. It didn't budge. He tried it with both hands, again, it didn't budge. Apparently they were locked from both sides. He shrugged to himself and decided that made sense. Otherwise, past-him would've just walked out the door. He put his hands back into his pockets and looked around the room. Perhaps he could find something.

He had been trying to ignore the hole in the wall to the center room. But now it drew his attention. He stepped through the gaping hole, into another room that was even more of a mess than the main one. A table was upset, boxes were all over the place. Vaguely, Sans remembered that the two rooms had been attached by a door. Well, he made his own door.

Sans walked over to the last place Gaster stood. He stared at the spot. And stared. Now there was no sign of the doctor besides a scorch mark and tattered bits of his black coat. Sans dropped to the ground, suddenly unwillingly to stand. He buried his face in his arms, hugging his knees to his chest.

The guilt was killing him.

But Papyrus didn't know that. No one needed to know that. Was it wrong for him to hide it? Was it wrong for him to not bring up the guilt of killing a man that never had existed?

He didn't know. But he didn't sob. He didn't cry, didn't shed a single tear. There was something that had to be done. Slowly, stumbling as if he was drunk, he got to his feet and tried the door to the main room.

…

 _Click!_

"BROTHER WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?" Papyrus yelled. He wasn't mad, he was worried. Scared, perhaps.

"sorry bro. first door wouldn't work." Sans shrugged. Alphys and Undyne came into the room behind Papyrus and looked around.

"Hey- S-Sans-" Alphys murmured, getting close to him "Isn't this w-where-….?"

Sans offered a mute nod as response. He then spun around into the room, not seeing how Alphys reacted.

"let's see what we could find." He said.

"UNDERSTOOD!" Papyrus grinned.

" _I BET I COULD FIND MORE STUFF THAN YOU!"_ Undyne declared, flipping over a crate to prove(?) her point.

"DOES EVERYTHING NEED TO BE A COMPETITION?" Papyrus asked, sweat slicking down his skull.

"Hell Yeah!" Undyne grinned.

"B-but this i-is s-serious." Alphys reminded gently. Undyne lost some spunk and sighed.

"Yeah, Alphys. You're right. I need to take this a bit more…" she made a face "Seriously."

"you have my sincerest _tanks_ " Sans said with a wink.

"Yeah-" Undyne looked annoyed suddenly, glaring down on him. "What was that?"

"A PUN, I ASSUME." Papyrus sounded annoyed.

"TANKS!? What, because I'm a FISH!?" Undyne screamed. Sans grinned, nodding contently. "GRAAAAAAHHH! SANS, THE NEXT TIME YOU DIE, SO HELP ME IT'LL BE BECAUSE _I_ KILLED YOU!"

"UNDYNE!" Papyrus yelped. He scooped up Sans and held him protectively "NO KILLING MY BROTHER!"

"yeah undyne, no _gilling_ me." Sans chuckled. Papyrus looked annoyed.

"SANS."

"Can I kill him NOW!?" Undyne asked, grinning toothily.

"NO! NO KILLING SANS!" Papyrus yelled back.

"i really _fish_ you wouldn't." came the response.

…

" _THAT'S IT, I'M KILLING HIM!"_

Alphys busied herself looking through the files and such littered about the room, ignoring the conversation taking place. Soon enough, she decided, they'll start to help. Then she thought of something brilliant and blurted it out before she could stop herself.

"Are you t-three _fin_ ished yet?"

The three stared at her.

"NOT YOU TOO!" Papyrus shrieked.

"Alphys, whhhhyyyyyy….!" Undyne moaned. Sans rewarded her with a light chuckle and a thumbs up.

"nice."

Alphys blushed and cleared her throat. "Well-er…. We n-need to get b-back to work…"

"Got it." Undyne muttered, rolling her eyes. She drop-kicked the crate she had picked up earlier and it exploded into shards of wood and now-broken lab equipment.

"woah." Sans responded.

"I SURE HOPE NOTHING IMPORTANT WAS IN THERE." Papyrus frowned.

Undyne laughed nervously, throwing her head back and baring her teeth "NOPE! NOTHIN IMPORTANT AT ALL! LET'S LOOK SOMEWHERE ELSE!" She proceeded to open more crates in a less destructive matter. Papyrus, now content that Undyne wasn't going to kill his brother, put Sans down and proceeded to shuffle about. Sans lifted a paper then put it down. Then he decided he was tired, so he lied down on the ground and seemingly fell asleep.

"SANS-" Papyrus began, reaching to shake him. Alphys put a hand on his arm.

"I-I think we sh-should let him s-sleep." She said, smiling gently.

"Yeah, that way the moron can't tell any more damn puns." Undyne murmured, leafing through papers she found.

"SWEAR WORDS ARE BAD." Papyrus scolded.

"Damn straight they are." Undyne said with a smirk. Alphys rolled her eyes, chuckling a bit at the two and went back to her search.

The three of them were so involved in their scavenger hunt, they didn't notice when Sans stretched out, took a piece of paper, scribbled 'going to grillby's, be back later' on it, and warped away.

Although, the note was a lie. He wasn't going to Grillby's. Instead, he warped outside a purple door deep in the Snowdin Forest and knocked twice.

"Who is there?"

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Wooh! Toriel is finally getting involved! I love Toriel so much, she's such a good character. I hope to write a more Tori-Centric fic in the future. But yeah, as I said, this isn't a ship-centric fic so Soriel isn't going to be obvious. Mainly friendship. But if you want to see Soriel, you may.**

 **Tra La La, The Queen Of Hearts and Ace of Spades**


	14. Chapter 14

"Who is there?" came the almost immediate response.

Sans was startled for half a second. How long has she been sitting there?

"woo." He said.

"Woo who?"

"Woah." Sans winked, shrugging even though he knew she couldn't see it "Calm down, you're getting way too excited."

He closed his eyes and listened to the blissful laugh that washed over him. He leaned against the doors and slid down it, sitting in the snow with a _crunch!_ She laughed for an incredibly long time. But somewhere along the line, her laugh became a gurgled, muffled kind of noise. And then it stopped.

"hey-" Sans frowned, feeling concern bubble inside him like a cauldron.

"I am all right." Said the voice. Toriel, one of the few people he cared to keep relations with throughout RESETs. She spoke again after a moment "I… I apologize."

"what for?" Sans asked, looking up toward the tree line. She laughed at that.

"I…er, I am ashamed to say this. But I thought perhaps you had gotten bored with me." She said "You have not come by in quite a while. I understand you probably had your reasons, but I could not help but wonder-"

"woah, sounds like you practiced this or something." Sans said, winking at the door.

Toriel laughed again "I might have."

"sorry." Sans apologized, changing the subject. "the last few days have been pretty hectic."

"Is that so?" she asked. "Would you like to talk about it?"*

"…I dunno." Sans said honestly.

"It is all right." Toriel said. "I understand. But please understand, I am here should you need me."

Sans chuckled "oh wow, i heard that so many times in the past few weeks."

"Are you going to be all right?"

Sans stayed quiet but answered honestly again "I don't know."

It took a while for her to respond this time. Sans just stared at his shoes as the sincerity of his words sunk into him. He honestly had no clue how this was going to play out. He didn't know if he'd get out of this okay, or if he'd end up like Gaster. Just…. No longer existing.

His own words echoed in his skull.

[JUST LET YOURSELF DIE]

Would he drag someone else into his fate?

"Excuse me, are you still there?" Toriel said.

"yeah, sorry." Sans responded. "zoned out for a sec. what's up?"

"…I do not believe we ever introduced ourselves." She said. Sans chuckled a little bit.

"i guess not."

"My name is Toriel." She introduced herself for the latest of the first times. Although, granted, this time around was different.

"sans." He said to the door.

"Sans? What a lovely name." she giggled. Sans saw his chance and took it.

"hey, isn't that the name of the queen or whatever?" Sans asked. The giggling stopped abruptly. A moment of silence hung over them like a cloud of lead.

"Correct." She said after a moment, slowly.

Sans laughed "woah, from how fidgety you're being, you might make me think you _are_ the queen."

No response.

Sans winked. "just joking with ya." He took a leap of faith "i know you are."

Again, no response. No sound of movement. No abrupt noises of claws scratching the stone floor, no quick words of farewell. Nothing.

And it lingered on.

"hey, toriel?" Sans said. His eyes lit up blue as memories from different lives rained down on him. The sound of fire, the brisk metallic _shing_ of a kitchen knife. Dust.

Dust leaking out from the door.

"Toriel!?" he screamed, jumping to his feet and pressing the side of his head to the door.

"I am here!" She yelped, startled "I apologize, I did not mean to frighten you."

Sans let out a heavy sigh of relief. "N-nah, I'm….good…. just… fell half-asleep and had a nightmare." He plopped down into the snow again.

Another moment of silence. Sans fidgeted.

"Sans, how long have you known I had been the queen?" she asked.

Sans didn't know how to honestly answer that. "… awhile."

"But you still spoke to me?" Toriel muttered. "Why?"

"honestly." Sans gave a shrug "'cause you like my jokes."

She laughed at that. "Oh goodness, Sans…" she chuckled, trailing off into a silence. "Was there any other reason?"

"i like _your_ jokes." He winked even though she couldn't see.

"Is that really all? There is nothing else?" she asked.

Sans fidgeted "well, i only bring it up today because i need to ask you something."

She hesitated. Sans expected as much, but eventually "What is that?"

"What can you tell me about Chara?" he hated having to do this to her, and it was apparent in the way he shrugged into his hood, how he nestled his chin to his shirt and mumbled under his breathe. He heard Toriel gasp slightly, could practically see the tears brimming over the corner of her eyes, the way she covered her face with her hands to hide her shock.

"Why-why would-" she took a breath and steadied her voice. And when she spoke, she no longer sounded like a friend addressing a friend. She sounded like a Queen addressing a subject. "Why would you like to know?"

Sans couldn't help but laugh for a good long minute. He took in several deep, giggly breathes and wiped at the magic blue tear seeping out of his left eye socket.

"o-oh, wow…" Sans chuckled "alright, how much free time do you have, tori?"

"Er…" Sans envisioned her confused half-blink as she tried to process the spontaneous laughter "I suppose as much as I want. Why?"

Sans leaned back against the door "story time, if you'll hear me out."

Another moment of silence "Very well."

"alright." He slouched "here we go."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **And how much he tells her will be revealed next chapter! Or, or. Maybe instead we'll see what the other group is doing? OOOOOOOOoOOOh.**

 **Sorry this update is a bit late. I was really sick yesterday. I'm sick today too. But, less. (blows party horn)**

 ***Bloopers.**

"Is that so?" she asked. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"sure." Sans shrugged "so a few weeks ago, i died, and then my brother and i figured out my soul is trying to rip me out of existence. so we looked around and stuff after i died the second time. apparently the ghost of a kid named chara is trying to kill me with the help of an evil flower. dunno why. but yeah, anyway, how was your day?"

"…Good?"

 **Tra La La, Mescty Page Sirc**


	15. Chapter 15

Alphys rummaged about, digging her arms deep into file cabinets and taking out file after file of useless information. She yawned, her eyelids dropping heavily as she resisted the urge to fall asleep. Absent-mindedly, she rubbed at the bruise around her neck.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHH!" came the scream. Alphys jumped, snapping awake and turned. Undyne was on her feet, magic crackling into a spear and eyes darting about, looking for her target. Really, it was just Papyrus stomping his foot angrily.

"AGH, BROTHER! WHY DO YOU NOT TELL PEOPLE THINGS!" he snapped. Alphys tilted her head, then straightened up and looked around the room. Sans was nowhere to be seen. She jumped to her feet.

"W-where is he?" she stammered.

Undyne mumbled something not nice and dropped her spear. She looked about with a pout "Where did that moron go?"

"GRILLBY'S." Papyrus grumbled, holding up the note written in perfect comic sans. Alphys found it remarkable how Sans could write in a computer font.

"Sans always goes to Grillby's." Undyne muttered "Why are we making a big deal out of this?"

Papyrus stared at her for a moment, completely dumfounded. He threw his arms up in the air "BECAUSE HE DIDN'T TELL ME! WHAT IF HE SLIPS ON AN ICE CUBE? WHAT IF HE TRIPS AND BANGS HIS SKULL ON THE COUNTER? WHAT IF HE TELEPORTED WRONG AND LANDED ON GRILLBY'S HEAD!?" he became increasingly more panicked as he progressed, beginning to pace about the room "OR WHAT IF THAT CHARA GIRL GETS HIM? FLOWEY? WHAT IF SOME MAGICAL ANCIENT EVIL AWAKENS AND EATS HIM- WHAT IF-"

" _CALM DOWN!"_ Undyne snapped, smacking him once. She put her hands on his shoulders and made him look at her "Listen, Papyrus. Sans is gonna be fine, okay? He probably knows what he's doing, and maybe taking a moment to relax is going to help him keep a clear head through all this."

Alphys nodded "I-it isn't a s-sin to take a b-break once and a while." She said with a smile.

Papyrus forced a deep, heavy breathe and relaxed his shoulders. "YES, I SUPPOSE YOU'RE RIGHT. FOR ONCE, SANS'S BREAKS ARE NECESSARY." He thought for a moment "BUT THEN AGAIN, HE PROBABLY ALREADY DID ALL THE THINGS I NAGGED HIM TO DO THROUGH ALL THOSE RESETS."

"Probably." Undyne shrugged.

"I WONDER IF HE EVER DID PICK UP THAT SOCK."

"P-probably not." Alphys shrugged.

They all fidgeted a moment. Alphys took out her phone.

"I-I'm going to text him."

"PLEASE DO." Papyrus said, sweating nervously.

Alphys nodded and felt relieved when she found the chat with Sans. She made a face when she remembered how she got this message and made an even more annoyed face when she read them. Maybe she should re-read her texts more.

 _Alphy:_

 _hey sans show up and jumpscare me._

 _Sans:_

 _ok sans, be there in a bit._

 _Alphy:_

 _k sans, thanks._

Did he really have to go and have a conversation with himself? Then again, his antics did give her his number… She wondered if he planned for that as she fumbled with her phone and sent a new message.

 _Alphy:_

 _Hey Sans, u ok? O_o ?_

She waited a moment and got a text back.

 _Sans:_

 _yeah im good. chatting with a friend. be back when I can. tell pap to stop chewing on his fingers._

"SO?" Papyrus asked worriedly.

"H-he said to t-tell you to stop chewing on your f-fingers." Alphys said "W-what does that means-" she cut herself off and gave Pap a semi-annoyed look. The taller skeleton sweated nervously and lowered his hands, the tips of his fingers with noticeable gnaw marks.

"Is that just a skeleton thing?" Undyne muttered.

"It's the equivalent to chewing on y-your nails, I think." Alphys said. She pocketed her phone "Sans says he's talking with a friend."

Papyrus relaxed a little with the mention of this "SO. HE'S NOT BY HIMSELF. THAT'S A RELIEF. DID HE SAY WHEN HE'D BE BACK?"

Alphys shook her head.

"AH." Papyrus frowned. Undyne gave him a reassuring (?) nudge.

"It's alright Papyrus. Let's just trust Sans not to spontaneously combust." She said.

Papyrus responded with a loud yelp of terror.

"U-undyne, I d-don't think y-you're helping." Alphys stammered.

"Oh- Uh-" Undyne fidgeted, scrambling for the words. "Uh- I'm sure he won't die! I mean…. He WON'T die!" Undyne grinned, satisfied with her reassurance. Papyrus seemed comforted by this too.

"YOU'RE RIGHT UNDYNE! I'M SURE SANS IS MORE CAREFUL THAN TO DIE!" Papyrus said.

Alphys decided not to point out Sans has gone this long without dying before. Instead, she turned back to her search and scanned the files intently. If Gaster had been a liable scientist, he probably wrote at least something down. Well, something that could help. Alphys wrapped her tail around her feet and thought. Was there anywhere else Sans would probably hide something? She let her mind wander back to when the two were good friends. The strange skeleton always had an odd way of just…putting things places. His wallet in his slipper, a bottle of ketchup in his eye socket… No good. All the places she could think of were on Sans's person.

A flash of green caught her eye. She scrambled up and back, darting behind Undyne and instinctively wrapped her claws around her own throat. The warrior turned immediately, a spear in her hand as Papyrus spread his feet apart in a battle stance.

"Howdy!" Flowey chirped. "Papyrus, how are you doing?"

"FLOWEY!" Papyrus grinned. He took a step foreward but then stopped himself. "Er….FLOWEY I AM QUITE CROSS AT YOU! YOU TRIED TO KILL ALPHYS-"

"Oh golly, I did?" Flowey frowned "I'm awfully sorry, Pap. I thought she was gonna hurt me."

"H-he's lying." Alphys tried to shout, but it came out more like a whimper.

"Papyrus, you don't actually believe him, do you?" Undyne growled.

Papyrus fidgeted and shook his head "NO. I DON'T. FLOWEY, WHY DID YOU ATTACK ALPHYS?"

Flowey's smile only seemed perkier "She was eavesdropping. That's rude."

"IT'S ALSO RUDE TO KILL PEOPLE!" Papyrus snapped, stomping his foot. "AND YOU'RE GOING TO TRY TO KILL SANS TOO-"

"Oh you already know about that." Flowey said, dropping the kind façade almost instantly. "Well I guess that means you won't tell me where he is then." A sinister grin crept across the flower's face "I suppose I can just make him come to me. **Killing YOU always** _ **gets him to do what I want!"**_

Alphys froze. Undyne glared. Papyrus yelped.

The Flower cackled.

* * *

Sans finished and leaned heavily against the door, curling in on himself and waiting for a response. It took a long time to hear. And he decided to watch himself nervously fidgeted his feet.

He told her about the RESETs, first and foremost. Otherwise, everything else wouldn't make all that much sense. He told her about how he died, twice now, how him and his small group of friends ventured about the True Lab in an attempt to discover some sort of help for him. How a past-him recorded a message practically telling him to just let go. He told her of how Flowey attacked Alphys, and that Alphys overheard the plant talking to a Chara. Practically all he had left out was the story of the True Lab, that was for Alphys to share or not, and the more...not enjoyable, parts of those experiences. Like watching his brother die repeatedly. Like watching a kid lose control of themselves because of some other force. Those nasty bits were omitted.

And now, in an ironic turn of events, he awaited his judgment.

To his surprise, the door behind him gave way. He fell onto his back as the door was opened and found himself staring upwards at Toriel. Usually, seeing her face to face for the first time would bring a grin to his face. And it almost did. But he caught himself, stopping in his smile when he saw her looked down on him, the corners of her mouth turned down to a frown. She stooped, her purple gown bunching up around her knees as she gingerly put her arms around Sans, picked him up, and put him on his feet.

"Sans." Toriel said, slowly. She made a face, apparently trying to find the right words to speak to him. She straightened up suddenly to her full height, being close to twice Sans's. Her hands were wrung and she looked down to the side, behind her. The warm air of the Ruins clashed with the cold of Snowdin Forest and a wind swirled up around the two of them. Sans stayed silent, looking up at her and waiting for her to respond. He fidgeted with his mittens in his pockets.

"Would you like to come inside?" Toriel offered after a moment. Sans forced his usual shrug and wink.

"sure." He walked down the hall behind her and waited a moment as she pushed the ancient door shut. Quietly, the two walked down the dimly lit purple halls listening only to the sound of their footsteps. Sans knew the layout of the Ruins already, but let Toriel lead the way up the stairs and into the living room. Toriel pulled out a chair for Sans which he took after a moment, settling in without looking at her. She then retreated into the kitchen, returning a few moments later with a jug and two glasses.

"Do you enjoy warm cider?" she asked. Sans nodded, realized she wasn't looking at him, and then said:

"yeah."

Toriel nodded in response and mutely poured two glasses and taking a seat across from him. Sans took his glass and stared vacantly into his wavering reflection-…

His eye sockets widened, and so did the blue inside both of them. He didn't know his lit his eye- He didn't know he can light BOTH his eyes. Slowly, as though to look like he wasn't panicking, he put the tip of his mittened hand under his right eye socket and prodded at it. Toriel tilted her head slightly and watched as he did this. Slowly, again trying to appear casual but failing as it was he was trembling, he reached and took off the mitten on his right hand.

The tips of his fingers were dimly glowing blue. He quickly shoved the mitten back on and stared ahead at the wall.

"Sans?" Toriel frowned. "Is everything all right-?" she stopped herself and shook her head "Sans. What is wrong?"

"I-" Sans muttered. He looked at her and their eyes locked. "Were my eyes glowing blue when you opened the door?"

"…Yes?" Toriel said, frowning. "Is that not supposed to happen?"

Sans shook his head. "Tori…. el, when I use my magic my left eye lights up. ONLY my left eye." He fidgeted "And usually, I know when I'm doing it."

"You did not realize it this time." She said it as a fact, not a question. "Does this mean you are using your magic now?"

"I don't know." Sans said, the corners of his grin turning downward. "I might be. But I don't feel like I am." He sighed and took a sip of his cider. "And the right eye is glowing now, too."

Toriel put her paw over his hand and gave him a reassuring smile. "Do not fear, my friend. I am here with you. We shall figure this out."

Sans smiled at her "thanks." He sighed, relaxing back into his chair and closing his eyes " _eye_ really appreciate it."

"It is all right to be afraid." Toriel said quietly, ignoring the pun.

"wouldn't help." Sans said, peering out of his left eye. He closed it again. "still. i don't feel like i'm using my magic."

"When was the last time you did?" Toriel suggested.

"earlier today." Sans said "when…flowey attacked alphys." He eyed her and she sighed under his gaze.

"Sans…" she took a breath "My child, Chara, has been dead for a long time." She paused. "I understand you heard her name, and therefore believe she may have something to do with the flower's attack. But I do not believe Chara would have provoked an attack or be able to have anything to do with this at all."

Sans didn't believe her but didn't let it show. "kay." He said.

She seemed surprised "That is it?"

Sans shrugged "i came to ask you what you may know about this, and you just told me. no point pushing it."

"Oh." Toriel said. She fidgeted with her claws as Sans continued to prod lightly at his eye sockets. They sat there for a while in silence, listening to the sound of a ticking clock and the small monsters scurrying about outside. The silence lingered on for what seemed like forever. And Sans was slowly falling asleep when her shrill laughter brought him back awake. He eyed her as she tried in vain to cover her laugh, her ears and shoulders bouncing along with it.

"I-I apologize." Toriel said. She took a breath and calmed down "There is simply so much to talk about that we seem not to be talking at all."

"seems so." Sans said with a wink. He shrugged "it's really hard to figure out what we should talk about when there's so much going on." He shoulders slumped slightly "…sorry to drag you into this."

"Do not apologize." Toriel said with a smile "I am happy you came to me when you thought I could help. I am simply ashamed for not being of more assistance. I apologize." She bowed her head.

Sans chuckled "nah, i'm sorry."

"No, Sans, do not blame yourself. I am at fault." Toriel insisted.

"knock knock."

Toriel tilted her head. "Who is there?"

"sorry."

"Sorry who?"

"sorry we're about to get stuck in an apology loop."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment before they both broke into laughter. It lasted several moments before Toriel pushed herself away from the table, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Hold on a moment, I believe I may know a friend who can help us with this conversation." She said. Sans looked at her questioningly as she walked over to the bookshelf, reached on top of it and took down a dusty sealed bottle and two small glasses. She turned back at him and winked, shaking the bottle "His name is Graham Beck."

Sans grinned "wow. so nice to meet ya."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **What a nice ending to the chapter. Graham Beck Bliss Demi-Sec is a type of sparkling wine. I chose it specifically because it supposedly tastes like Butterscotch. DRINK YOUR CARES AWAY SANS.**

…

 **Any of my readers under 21, don't drink. It's bad. People 21 and older, drink responsibly.**

 **Anyway.**

 **Tra la la, Two Blue Eyes and Demise, A Demon with Sufficient Lies.**


	16. Chapter 16

A few hours later, Sans was slumped over the dining room table, giggling like a moron with a light pink blush on his face. Toriel tried to stay seated upright but was alas, noticeably swaying. Everything that had to be said has been said. Sans explained the trials of the past few weeks. Explained his current situation he found himself in and explained, without much of a thought, his fears of it. Toriel had listened intently, nodding along and making comments when she deemed necessary. They made a bit of a game of it. Whenever one of them began to feel a bit unsure, they'd both take a small drink. Now the bottle of butterscotch-flavored wine was practically gone.

But they finally told their stories.

Toriel shakily got up from the table, went into the kitchen, and got them both tall glasses of water. She was frankly unsure of how getting intoxicated was for a skeleton, but she figured a nice cold cup of water would help snap them both back to reality.

They sipped at their waters slowly. Sans's teeth made a soft _clunk_ noise as they bit down on the edge of the glass and he took long, controlled sips. The clock ticked the time away. Aside from that, and the sound of two monsters drinking water, it was silent. The blue in Sans's eyes wavered, flickering in and out and glowing bright and then dimming down. His soul felt like it was pounding in his body. Whether he was imagining it or it was actually happening, he decided not to care.

Toriel was the first to break the silence "So, is Alphys going to be well?"

Sans nodded "i think so. she's got a nasty bruise but she seems to be breathing okay."

"That is good." She sounded distracted.

"Toriel?" Sans frowned.

"The flower attempted to kill your friend, correct?" she recounted.

"yeah." Sans said, the corner of his grin tilting downward "why?"

"Sans." Toriel muttered. She swallowed a moment and steadied her voice "The other day, when I went to tend to Chara's grave I found…." She chewed on her lip a moment "I thought I might have imagined it. But I thought I had seen a child's corpse dangling from the ceiling."

Sans felt himself tense up. _Frisk?_

"Tori-" he started. But he cut himself off. What could he have said? That he knew the human that was probably dead now? Were they actually dead? Maybe they were just stuck there… "can you take me there?"

Toriel blinked up at him but nodded mutely. She fidgeted with her claws a moment and got up, leading him deeper into the RUINs. Sans decided to ignore the thrumming headache going in through his skull, left behind by the alcohol he had so enjoyed. He had better things to do.

The RUINs was filled with puzzles and small monsters that avoided them. A few Froggits eyed Sans, surprised by the new face but didn't do much more than that. They walked in silence. God, Sans was getting tired of that. Usually he'd be fine with quiet, easier to sleep. But this was getting so redundant and repetitive. He was sick of it.

"do ya know any songs?" Sans asked. Toriel glanced back at him with a confused blink. She seemed to have caught onto his despair and turned back ahead.

"I know a few." Toriel said. "They do not have any words, they are just….humming."

"that's fair." Sans said with a shrug. He didn't ask her to hum it but instead started thinking of some other conversation starters. He got that what they were looking to find was… not really a place to talk. But the constant silence was driving him mad. He needed some sort of noise. As he thought about something to break the silence, his thoughts were interrupted by a soft song. Toriel's back was still to him but she was humming a song. It was a strange tune. Both hopeful and…sad, in a way. Sans closed his eyes and felt something stir. Had he heard this before? He might have.

But…not from Toriel. The music box in Waterfall. Who put it there? No one really knew.

Eventually her song thrummed away. "Right through here." She said, motioning to the tall purple gates. Sans steeled himself and walked right on through.

"you stay here." He said. She ignored him and followed and that was that.

The two walked side by side into the small cavern. A small beam of sunlight filtered through a gap in the top and gather like golden silk upon a patch of blooming flowers. Sans looked up at the ceiling of the cavern, trying to catch a glimpse of the child's corpse Toriel supposedly saw. Vines and roots weaved in and out of the cave wall like a pack of large snakes. Toriel was fidgeting, apparently also trying to find the body amongst the debris.

"Perhaps I had simply been in a waking nightmare of sorts." She pondered out loud.

"or maybe they moved." Sans said. Toriel squeaked a bit in surprise and slapped her claws over her mouth.

"The child is alive?" She sounded horrified "And I just left them there?" Her red gaze snapped back upwards, scanning the cavern with a laser-focused glare.

Sans looked too. Not very hard as it was he was debating. If it'd save the kid's life, perhaps he should risk emotionally harming Toriel.

"toriel, y'know how i said i've been through a lot of RESETs?" Sans asked. Toriel didn't look at him but nodded mutely. Sans winked out of habit "i think i might know this human." With that her eyes snapped to him, widening.

"Sans-"

"they're probably not dead." Sans shrugged "they're way too determined to be dead like this." He looked up towards the cavern ceiling and called out "Frisk! hey kid, are you up there?"

His words echoed about the cavern, coming back to him distorted and confused. After that, the two were left in silence. Sans almost yelled something just to avoid that dreadful silence when the sound of rustling caught his attention. Both him and Toriel looked to the noise and saw a tangle of thorny vines bounced with movement. Sans's eye sockets narrowed as he focused and he caught a flash of a blue sleeve.

"there they are." Sans said. Toriel immediately took a few steps forward, stopping only when Sans held out his arm and it collided painfully with her waist. She glared down at him for a minute to which Sans simply winked up at her "i'll get 'em."

He waved his left hand and a blue magic tore apart the vines. A small, brunette child tumbled out and Toriel raced forward, catching them in her large fluffy arms. Frisk blinked weakly for a moment then smiled up at Toriel, then to Sans. They gifted him with their goofy grin, a row of white teeth with one missing near the middle.

"I figured I'd _drop_ by." They chuckled. Sans grinned and winked at them.

"nice one, kiddo."

Frisk chuckled a bit, coughed, and nestled themself into Toriel's hold.

"Thanks for catching me, Goat Mom." They said quietly.

Toriel smiled gently down at them and hugged them to her chest. She must have gathered that in previous timelines, she had met and cared for them. And she was more than happy to continue that trend.

"My child" She asked gently "How ever did you end up there?"

Frisk smiled their strange smile again "I fell down and when I was falling this vine smacked me into the wall." They looked at Sans "I think it was Flowey?"

Sans frowned "might have been- Kid?"

Frisk's rarely-seen eyes widened, their brown irises contracted around their tiny pupils.

"Y-your eyes-" they started. Sans cut them off with a wave of his hand.

"a lot of stuff happened this time around, kiddo. let's get back to toriel's house and talk about it."

Toriel nodded, adjusting her hold on Frisk so they were more comfortable. "And I apologize, my child, for not realizing you were there."

Frisk laughed that off. "I didn't know you saw me, to be honest. I was kinda unconschmous for a while."

Toriel frowned "…It is 'unconscious', my child."

Frisk grinned their weird grin "Yep!"

Sans chuckled a moment, trying to shake off the sensation of dread he suddenly had.

Back at the True Lab, a screen lit up. The smiling red-eyed face of a child glitched in and out of existence as a wild flower's demonic laugh echoed down the halls.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Wowie, many a things are happening. Frisk finally appears! Huzzah! Honestly, I have no idea how I'll write them as it is that Frisk seems to be…well, an anomaly. So. Enjoy my messed-up Frisk.**

 **The song Toriel was humming was 'His Theme' in case that wasn't clear.**

 **Tra La La, Golden Flowers, Golden Halls.**


	17. Chapter 17

"NO YOU DON'T!" Undyne snapped, stabbing at a vine that had lashed out at her. She stumbled backwards and quickly ducked, rolling under another vine. Her one visible eye darted about, taking in the entire scene. She made sure not to face one direction for too long. The flower was clearly trying to get in her blind spot.

Another vine lashed out at her. She twirled her spear and jabbed the head into it, practically bursting it in half. Her long fangs bared in her growl, her hair whipping in the wind that the movements brought about. Flowey tried to grab her with another vine which was swiftly cut in half. Taking advantage of gthe brief moment of relief, she charged at where several vines were wrapping around Alphys. She bit and scratched, tears streaming down her face as memories of her last incident came back to her in waves. Alas, there was too many too quick and the Flower's goal this time around didn't seem to be to amuse his sadistic self.

Papyrus, she wasn't too worried about. He could hold his own. And frankly, he was doing well. Dodging vines and beating them away with a bone or two. His focus was clearly on trying to free Alphys or talk Flowey down. But to no avail.

"WHY WON'T YOU STAY STILL!?" Flowey shrieked. Undyne slashed a vine in half, jumped over another one, and cut one that had wrapped around Alphys's feet. The small dinosaur shot her a grateful, but scared, smile.

"T-thank you, Un-dyne-" Alphys said. She was cut off by Undyne picking her up and chucking her out of the room through a gap in the crawling vines. She flailed her arms about as she landed with a _thunk!_ , skidding along the concrete floor and rolling forward several feet. Pushing herself up on her arms, she shook her head and hurriedly and desperately stumbled about for her glasses. Something put them on her face and she was surprised to find it was a different amalgamate. Reaper Bird, she believed it called itself. She shot it a grateful smile, turned quickly and went to run back to help. Dogandgy jumped over her and turned on several heels, crouching downward with a gurgling noise that might have been a growl.

"P-please!" Alphys stammered "I n-need to help them!"

Dogandgy responded with a loud "BARK!"

"S-stand down!" Alphys snapped, pointing to the ground in emphasis and trying to sound in charge. It didn't work. Reaper Bird hopped over and wrapped its long neck around her arm, dragging her back. She stumbled and tried to lunge forward and away "N-no! Let go of me!"

Another hand took a hold of her other arm. She turned to see Lemon Bread. They frowned, lightly touching the tips of their fingers to Alphys's throat. She winced.

" _It will hurt you again."_ Lemon Bread said softly.

Dogandgy barked again in confirmation, turned, and leapt into the vine-covered room.

"W-Wait! No!" Alphys howled "D-d-d-don't-!"

" _They use to be Royal Guardsmen."_ Reaper Bird commented _"They can handle this. We need to get you away."_

"B-but-!" Alphys sniffled.

" _Doctor Alphys, your friend Undyne threw you out of the room to get you away. Please."_ Lemon Bread said gently.

"B-but-" Alphys stammered. She stared back at the room. Undyne was there. Papyrus was in there. And now Dogandgy was in there. They were all trapped in there with an evil, sadistic flower that SHE helped to create. She had to do something. She pulled against her restrainers but to no avail. She half screamed, half sobbed: "I NEED TO DO _SOMETHING!"_ Again, she pulled with all her might and this time they gave way. But she only landed on her hands and knees, clawing at the concrete as it settled into her that she _couldn't._ She wasn't a fighter. She wasn't a defender. She wasn't good for anything but getting in people's way and making them worry for her.

Alphys screamed and sobbed on the concrete floor. Reaper Bird and Lemon Bread exchanged dazed looks, took a hold of Alphys and began to drag her away. She didn't resist this time and let herself be carried. The weight of her phone in her pocket brushed against her thigh and she suddenly thought of something. Sans was with someone. Maybe…

She took out her phone and stared at it.

Maybe they can help?

 _Alphy:_

 _Sans, Flowey's attacking again! You can get help, right!? Please, he's got Undyne and Papy_

Sans was in the middle of helping Toriel both tend to Frisk's wounds and gently fill them in on the situation. They nodded gravely, a somber look to their soft face as they took in these words. They knew Chara and Flowey. Neither were pleasant company. Sans's hands were not in his pockets for once, as he was carrying a tray of food into the room and helping the goat woman with her healing magic or with bandaging. After he was done with that, Toriel sent him out to wash Frisk's thorn-covered sweater as the child wrapped themselves in a blanket, cold from only being covered in a thin black undershirt.

His phone vibrated angrily in his pocket but through the thickness of his coat he couldn't tell as he washed out the sweater and used his magic to dry it. After a good twenty minutes he was content with his work and delivered the shirt back to its owner, who took it happily. The child smelled it in for a long moment, enjoying the scent of freshly-washed laundry. They smiled up at Sans.

"Thanks!"

Sans winked and ruffled their head "No problem kiddo." He put his hands in his pockets again finally and when his hand brushed his phone, he figured it'd be a good idea to text Alphys or Papyrus and tell them he wasn't dead while Toriel tended to the rest of Frisk's needs.

He flipped open his phone.

Saw the text.

 _Me:_

 _Alphy where are you guys right now?_

…

 _Me:_

 _Alphy!?_

…

He felt his soul tense. He quickly dialed and heard just the busy tone. By now he caught the attention of both his companions in the room, who looked at him with wide and worried eyes.

He got no one to pick up so he texted again, to Papyrus.

 _Me:_

 _PAPPY ANSWER ME_

 _Me:_

 _PAPPY WHAT'S GOING ON?"_

No response. He tried Undyne.

 _Me:_

 _WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW_

Nothing. Tried Papyrus again.

 _PAPYRUS, ANSWER ME_

Nothing.

 _WHERE ARE YOU_

Nothing. At this point he was yelling his texts at his phone.

 _WHAT'S HAPPENING_

Nothing.

 _PAPYRUS!?_

Nothing.

…

" _BROTHER!"_


	18. Chapter 18

"Sans, what is wrong?" Toriel asked, walking over to her panicking friend and putting a paw on his trembling shoulder.

"I need to go." Sans said suddenly, brushing her paw off. "Papyrus is in trouble- I need to get to him."

"I'll go too." Frisk volunteered, clambering off of the bed and running over, taking Sans's hand in their own.

Sans shook his head "Kiddo, it's too dangerous-" a small hand was placed on his teeth in a sign to stop talking. Frisk smiled up at him.

"Too bad. I'm going." They said. Sans saw the all-too-familiar determined look on the kid's face. He sighed.

"alright. i see i can't stop ya." He looked to Toriel, desperation darkening his blue eyes "but toriel, you should stay behind-"

"If Frisk is going with you, I shall as well." Toriel interrupted him and smashed down his argument. Her red eyes gleamed with the fire of her resolve. Sans sighed and decided not to waste time carrying this argument on any longer.

"okay. let's go." He held out his other hand to Toriel, who took it quickly and without hesitation. In a flash of scenery they were suddenly in front of the entrance of the True Lab. Frisk blinked their confusion and Toriel looked around the room, eyes narrowed and nostrils flaring, as she searched for any potential danger. Sans swayed a moment, then collapsed onto his knees.

"Sans!" Frisk yelped, trying to pull Sans over their shoulder.

"Sans, what is wrong?" Toriel asked, kneeling down to gently support Sans by wrapping an arm around his back.

Sans's mittened hand rubbed against his skull as small beads of sweat trailed down his face.

"i… tried to warp where i saw 'em last…" he explained in between deep breathes "something is keepin' me from actually getting there…."

Frisk swallowed "Flowey?" they asked nervously.

Sans's eyes blazed brighter "I don't think so." He stumbled to his feet and took a look around. Toriel straightened up and protectively hugged Frisk close to her body. The child shook, burrowing into the safety of her embrace, their eyes wide and afraid.

There was only one force that can make the kid shake like that.

"Not too late to turn back." Sans told them. Frisk shook their head and in turn, Toriel wrapped her arm tighter around them.

"I believe we have both made up our minds." She said. It was clear she saw the kid's determination and perhaps some lingering memory of past timelines stayed with her, as she decided to simply protect them instead of stop them.

Sans shrugged, trying to stay the level-headed monster the two of them knew and were comfortable with. Then the four went into the basement. The elevator ride down seemed longer than usual. Toriel was practically growling through her bared teeth. Frisk was breathing deeply and slowly, trying to calm their racing heart and still their trembling body.

They left the elevator and stepped into a dark hall carpeted and curtained with ill-colored vines. Toriel, with a wave of her paw, set them aflame and allowed them to pass without incident. Sans didn't put his hands in his pockets as he walked down, in fact he took off his mittens and pocketed them instead. Frisk decided not to question the ominous blue glow on his phalanges. There was a better time for it, a better place. For now, they listened to the sound of their footsteps and the racing of their heart.

And Sans's eyes blazed brighter and brighter, eventually bathing the majority of the hall in their blue shine. The only exception to this were the dark, almost black, shadows that traced the group's features and the edges of the vines. When they came across the room before the lab's generator, they saw a familiar eerie face.

"Howdy!" chirped the flower. Sans lifted his arm up, shielding Frisk with his arm as Toriel crouched over them, eyes narrowing and snout furrowing. Teeth baring and nostrils flaring. One arm wrapped around the child's body and the other hand flexed, lighting up into orange flames that joined in and mixed its chaos with the calm of Sans's blue light.

The flower's eyes darted to Frisk.

"Oh, you got loose." He muttered "Oh well. I guess I can deal with you too."

"YOU'RE A FART FACE!" Frisk screamed, ripping themselves from Toriel's hold and running up next to Sans, pointing to accent their statement. Toriel pulled them back and returned them to the safety of her shielding. Both Sans and Flowey made a similar face of part annoyance, part confusion.

"…All right." Flowey muttered. "Anyway." The plant grinned sinisterly, his eyes going dark. "So Sans, where's Papyrus?"

" _You tell me."_ Sans said. Frisk shuddered from the tone as Toriel's grip on them tightened. Flowey suppressed a shudder.

"Well." He chirped, bending his stem to the side. _"He's just_ _ **hanging around."**_ At this phrase, vines from the ceiling dropped down, and it's weights with them. Undyne, Papyrus, and Alphys framed the small flower's as they were wrapped in vines and thorns. Undyne kicked and thrashed, and probably would've been screaming too was it not for the vines wedged in her teeth. Alphys struggled, kicking frantically and putting her hands between the vines and her neck to allow her precious room to breathe. Papyrus was thrown to his knees on the floor, vines tying his hands in front of him and weaving into his skull, locking his jaw into place so he couldn't utter a word. The plant might have made a point to make sure the small scar under his eye was visible.

 _"Usually I'd say 'good one'."_ Sans said slowly.

"Guys!" Frisk howled, trying to tear themself from Toriel.

"Release them this instant!" she snapped.

 _"Nah."_ Flowey chirped. His eyes were as black as Sans's own _"So buddy, here's the deal. You DIE and they"_ He shook them for emphasis _"Get to live."_

"D-don't do it, Sans!" Alphys howled, being the only one of the three who could speak. This command was met by a harsh snap of the vine, causing her to shriek out in pain. Sans's eyes darted over to her a moment, and then back to Flowey.

 _"Or you can just let them go and YOU get to live."_ He threatened.

 _"Oh, scary."_ Flowey grinned "Come on Sansy, we both know you'll just come back. So why not?" Vines wrapped around the bottom of Papyrus's jaw and yanked down cruelly. A muffled noise that may have been a scream rang out from the younger skeleton's form. Sans tensed up. The Flower chuckled a bit and said pleasantly "Or does he just not matter to you?"

Sans stared at the plant a moment. Then he cast a quick glance up to Papyrus. God knows what the damn plant would do to provoke him. Sans sighed.

"eh. guess i'll just come back." Sans said with a shrug. He took a step forward.

"Sans!" Toriel yelped, sounding appalled.

"Don't." Frisk whispered, tears pricking their eyes, shimmering with blue light.

"D-don't do it-" Alphys stammered, tears already streaking down her face "He-he won't let us g-go even if you d-do-" . A vine interrupted her by slapping around her mouth. Undyne and Papyrus both let out a muffled screech of protest as they helplessly watched Sans walk up to the flower. Papyrus had magic tears flowing down from his sockets, and he dropped his head, ashamed and useless.

Sans's eyes darted to Alphys. She tried to stop crying but found she couldn't. In fact, the look he gave her made her sob even more. That was a look she has never seen on Sans yet knew. That was a look she had hoped were never be given to her again, but at the same time she longed for.

That was a look that said ' _I Trust You To Fix This'._

She sobbed, sniveling, and ducked her head away from the skeleton's gaze. Sans was placing his faith in a very bad monster, she was sure.

"Good." Flowey chirped. A vine shot down from the ceiling and stabbed through Sans from the back. And the flower's expression turned sinister _"Now I'll kill 'em anyway just to_ _ **piss you off."**_

"NOPE!" Sans grinned as what was maybe blood or ketchup leaked out of the corner of his mouth. He took a hold of the vine that was stabbed through him and set it aflame with magic. Quickly it set off a chain reaction, following the vines and going to their source where it crackled into an azure flame.

"WHAT!?" Flowey screeched as the blue magic overtook him. The vines holding the three monsters shriveled up, blackened and died.

"SANS!" Papyrus yelped instantly, darting forward to assist his brother. Sans was swaying on his feet, his eyes flickering with their now unsteady light. The vine that had killed him turned to charred dust and fluttered to the ground. But his grin seemed genuine. With a noticeable effort, he rocked onto the heel of one foot and motioned to the dying plant in an arc.

" _gggggggggggeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttt dunked on!"_

Then he fell and turned to dust.


	19. Chapter 19

Papyrus skidded to his knees, arms out stretched to catch only the dust and now empty jacket of his big brother. Undyne wasted no time, summoning a spear and jabbing it at Flowey. He let out a frightened and hurt _squeak_ and burrowed into the ground.

"SANS!" Papyrus yelped.

"Relax, Papyrus." Undyne hissed "He'll just come back, won't he?"

"But what if he doesn't!?" Frisk cried. Undyne looked down on the child with a frown.

"Uh… is that a human?" she asked.

"NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR THAT, UNDYNE!" Papyrus yelled. Undyne mumbled under her breathe, shot Frisk a warning glare that went ignored, and ran over to help up Alphys. The small scientist clawed at the ground, staring at her clenched fingers as tears ran over her snout and dotted the floor with dark spots.

"Alphy?" she said slowly, putting a hand on her shoulder. The immediate response she gave was turning and quickly enveloping Undyne in a hug. The fish warrior returned the embrace and patted gently. "It's alright, he'll just come back." Alphys's head snapped up and tears streamed down the face.

"No he won't!" she cried. And burrowed her face under Undyne's head, leaving the warrior confused. Dogandgy shook itself, limping into the room and going ignored for the most part. It dragged its large, blobby body over to Alphys and tried to give a comforting nudge, but instead fell onto the floor. Then it laid there, panting heavily. Reaper Bird, Lemon Bread, and Snowdrake-Alike peered out from around a corner, too afraid to do anything. Papyrus tried to ignore everything and gently shook his brother's coat.

"COME ON, SANS. HURRY UP AND COME BACK PLEASE." He asked, trying not to let his voice waver. Frisk walked over to the grieving skeleton and knelt before him, putting a small, shaking hand on his. They shot him a smile.

"Don't worry Papyrus." They said. They didn't sound convinced "It'll be alright-"

And as they said that, a white soul fluttered up from the dust.

…

Then it turned black, dripping as if it were covered in ink and tar and like a flash flickered away into nothing.

…

He was back in the void.

He honestly expected as such, and he looked around with little to no interest. It was still pleasant, but not necessarily likable. Sans floated there for what felt like a very long time. Slowly, his soul appeared before him. His shoulders tensed and he prepared his magic.

He got the feeling the flower didn't want to kill him for the heck of it, this time.

The white glow of his soul filtered on his face but he paid it no mind. Instead, he looked about the void, prepared to… Do something. Suddenly, he felt a hand take a grip on his chest. He flailed, letting out a shriek of protest. The blue and silver lights flickered out and it was completely dark save for the glow of his eyes. …

And hers.

Red eyes shown, melting away from the darkness, a smile set underneath them. Slowly, as if tearing herself from mud, came the rest of her body. Green sweater, brown pants, black boots. That damn smile. Her finger dug cruelly into Sans's soul, and he felt her nails in his chest. He wheezed a painful breathe and glared. From his soul, strings reached out and tied him to it. She smiled pleasantly as she watched, taking joy in his inability to escape from her.

Sans gritted his teeth and tried to move but found the threads wrapped wildly around him and weighed him down like chains. They pulled him down, but his soul remained still, being held by the human. From the void, she drew a knife. Not one meant for killing, rather specifically made to cut vegetables.

Sans got the feeling that wasn't what it was going to be used for.

 **"It's so nice to get to meet you face to face."** The human hummed.

Sans didn't respond. He couldn't. One of the strings managed to wedge itself in his teeth. And now weighed down his jaw. Flossing to the EXTREME.

 **"My name is Chara. Do you remember me, Sansy?"** she chirped. She dragged him up to her face harshly, ignoring the grunts of protest at it. She grinned, her red eyes glinting like a shine on her knife. **"Remember when I killed Papyrus?"**

His eyes blazed. Dust covered the ground, everywhere. Toriel wouldn't respond. Papyrus still believed in them-

Still believed in this piece of sh-

 **"Oooh, scarryyy."** Chara smiled **"You know Sans, you're the reason why I killed everyone in the first place, right?"** Sans still couldn't respond. His eyes started to catch on fire, spreading out across his eye sockets and climbing onto his skull. **"The first time around, I didn't kill anyone. Yay! But the second time, I realized Papyrus REALLY annoyed me."** She giggled **"So I killed him."** She pulled Sans in closer and her grin grew wider **"That's when you didn't show up again until your… 'judgement'. Then I realized something.."** She loosened her grip and stroked the left side of his face, completely ignoring the magic that tried so hard to hurt her. Her voice lowered. It was almost a whisper **"You are very interesting. So the next time, I killed everyone. I wanted to see what happened when you got pushed over the edge. I was not disappointed."**

 **"Sansy, I'm sure by now you know at least** _ **something**_ **about what happened to Asriel. You don't know exactly? That's okay. I'll tell you. You know that flower? Yeah, that's him. Poor Azzy can't feel a thing. No joy, no sadness, nothing. So I thought… "** suddenly her voice changed, and Sans could recognized it as the voice that echoed Flowey's "I need to help my sibling!" Chara's voice returned to normal **"So I just have to get him a soul. First, I tried to get the humans'."** She sighed **"Didn't work. So I thought 'Oh! Maybe he needs a monster soul!' But where to get one? If I used Asgore or Toriel, Azzy would've been so sad, would've felt HORRIBLE. So I tried Papyrus. He wasn't strong enough for his soul to last. So I moved on to Undyne. Still nothing. Useless. I kept going, killing every monster I saw until I could find a soul that could last long enough for me to give to Asriel."** She patted Sans on the head and almost sounded nice **"Then I found you."** The knife she was holding was quickly through a thread, severing it from the soul and watching them drop downward, dragging its weight down on Sans.

 **"You were promising. So I kept watching you."** Another cut. Another loose string **"And kept watching you. I even let Frisk wander around a few times. Just so I can watch you."** Chop **"Of course, I couldn't let them leave. I couldn't let them help you escape. Not until I got a soul for my dear brother."** She smiled down at him again. **"So each time, at the last moment, I took Frisk's body and did something… ghastly."** She fiddled with one of the threads, tightening it into a chord. Sans let out a pained gasp, trying not to let Chara be aware of it. She was. **"I kept watching you, Sans. I kept my eyes on you. And this time, something different happened!"** she beamed a grin. **"You fell down and DIED. But then you didn't. Want to know why?"**

He couldn't respond even if he did know the answer.

Chara narrowed her eyes and grinned **"A little something called 'determination'. A really demented, mangled version of it, but it's still there. Determination without purpose."** She giggled and then drew her knife. Chop chop **"I want your Soul, Sans. I will TAKE IT."** She sliced three strings at once **"And I will give it to Azzy so he could feel again! I need it for him! I need it for Asriel!"**

That, Sans could understand. He could understand doing things like this for someone's brother. But he didn't like HIS brother being sacrificed for this.

Chara wasn't done. She grinned **"I need Asriel to feel again."** She leaned in really close, her breath warm on his face **"So HE could feel betrayed when I KILL HIM."**

"yep. you're crazy." Sans rasped and tried to pull away. Chara cackled hysterically, throwing back her head.

 **"All he HAD TO DO WAS TAKE SOULS. I KILLED MYSELF FOR NOTHING!"** she wildly swung the knife, cutting off several more strings until there was only one left. **"NOW HE'LL DIE FOR NOTHING!"** Her voice was suddenly soft **"And so will you."**

Sans winked "determination, char-char." He gritted through the pain, rose his legs and stuck her in the stomach. Chara let out a startled shriek as Sans propelled himself away and then the weight of his soul strings dragged him down into the endless dark.

He waved as he went.


	20. Chapter 20

Asgore cradled his watering can in one arm, checking his phone with the other. He'd been trying to get a hold of Alphys or Undyne for a few days now, but neither of them have responded to his calls. He sighed and pocketed his phone as he approached his garden. Really, it was rude of him to expect them to always be ready to answer him. But he couldn't help but be worried. Perhaps later he'll drop by to see them and they can all have tea. He smiled to himself. That sounded nice. After he was done tending to his garden he'll be sure to drop by.

His knees kneaded into the dirt and he settled himself, pushing his cape behind him so it wouldn't get in the way. With a content but tired smile he hummed to himself, tipping his can and watering the golden flowers. It was a beautiful day today. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming…

Asgore took a long breathe in through his nose and felt himself relax even more. The air smelled nice, of flower petals and a fresh breeze. Not much wind gets in through the barrier, but the little that did was more than welcomed. And as always, his thoughts wandered to his wife, his kids. The happy days they spent in the living room, telling stories and eating pies. Asriel's smile, Chara's grin, Toriel's kindness. So much he'd lost.

He let out a wispy sigh and slouched into the flowers. He missed his family. But… There were things that must be done, an Underground to be lead. The large goat stood as his watering can emptied and he turned and walked back into the golden halls. This large hallway was always where…someone, used to give sentences. He couldn't quite remember who. It was the 'Judgment Hall', he remembered they called it.

He hummed to himself as he travelled through the towering columns. The golden light reflecting off of the glass walls and setting the entire corridor aglow. Dark shadows traced the sides of the columns and his own figure and the only sound was the soft 'pit pat' of his feet and the deep slur of him humming.

A bit of a breeze picked up. Asgore felt his hackles rise, and he looked about frantically. Something was wrong here. He knelt down slowly, placing his watering can on the ground and then stood tall. From underneath his cape, he drew a red trident. His golden armor catching fire as it caught the sun's light. Eyes narrowed and nostrils flaring, he glared about the hall. From a bit of a ways in front of him, a dark vortex snapped open like an eye. Asgore spread his feet but didn't raise his weapon. Whatever this visitor was, perhaps it could be spoken to?

From the dark hole, a blue light shot out like an array, devouring the golden light and replacing it with its own solemn glow. A series of white strings fell to the ground like discarded ropes, and it yanked a bundle of blue and black along with it. The vortex closed up and Asgore watched with wide eyes as the visitor attempted in vain to push themself to their feet. He abandoned his trident and hurried over to them, putting an arm under them for support and another one behind their back to help them up. As soon as contact was made, the visitor's gaze snapped up to him, eye sockets blazing blue and one of the strings wedged in their teeth, weighing down their jaw.

Asgore blinked, furrowing his brow a moment but then it clicked. "Sans?" he inquired.

Sans slumped into his hold, the shift of his strings framing his movements and he went limp. Asgore's heart skipped a beat. He easily lifted the small skeleton, bundling up his strings, and raced back to his home. There, he tucked Sans into his bed and hurried to make tea. His claws drummed against the countertop impatiently as he waited for it to boil, his free hand pressing the phone to his ear. Alphys wasn't picking up. He tried to call Undyne. She didn't either.

Asgore rubbed his head with one hand. Then dove into one of many junk-filled drawers and shuffled about. He grabbed a hold on a scrappy piece of paper that had a number written on it, entirely in the papyrus font. Glancing at the paper, he dialed the number into his phone and listened to the ringtone.

…

 _Riiiinngg, Riiiiinngg._

Papyrus jumped, startled at the combination of vibration and sound and fumbled about in his scarf. The human, Frisk, sat next to him, staring up at him with a slight tilt of their head. Toriel turned back from where she was working in the kitchen. Undyne cast him a glance but quickly turned her attention back to Alphys, who was clinging onto her silently.

The group had gathered at the skeleton brother's house, confused and grieving about the events that just occurred. Papyrus and Frisk sat on the couch, close enough to each other to comfort. Alphys hadn't let go of Undyne since Sans's soul disappeared, and the warrior didn't seem to know what to do about the small human currently in her presence, so she focused on the small scientist. Toriel had made herself busy, cleaning the house and cooking with the silence of a phantom. Overall, it had been quiet. And uneasy. But then the phone rang.

After a moment, Papyrus pulled out his phone, gave a confused click of his teeth, cleared his throat (much to Frisk's confusion), and answered.

"HELLO?" he said.

"Papyrus?" said the deep voice. Papyrus recognized it immediately and responded slowly.

"HELLO, KING ASGORE." He said. Toriel tensed up, her eyes narrowing. Frisk shot her a glare and she sighed, going back to her cooking. Papyrus ignored the exchange "I'M SORRY, KING ASGORE, BUT NOW'S NOT A GOOD TIME." He said. Frisk quickly squeezed him into a hug and he gave them a grateful pat.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that, Papyrus." Asgore said "But this is about Sans-"

"SANS!?" Papyrus yelled louder-than-usual into the phone. Attention from everyone was diverted to him. Papyrus ignored them "WHAT ABOUT SANS?"

"W-well…" Asgore started, startled by the somehow-louder skell. "He's in my home right now-"

"I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!" Papyrus declared, hanging up immediately and leaping to his feet. He took off, Frisk on his heels and quickly falling behind. Undyne sprinted after him, carrying Alphys who had just looked up from her vigil. Toriel also bolted (after turning off the stove, of course), scooping Frisk up and easily catching up to Papyrus and Undyne.

"What's going on?" Undyne snapped.

"SANS IS AT ASGORE'S CASTLE!" Papyrus explained hastily. This earned shocked stares from the rest of the group. Alphys spoke up first.

"P-papyrus, take the boat." She said.

"That sounds like a good idea." Toriel added. Frisk nodded from the goat woman's hold.

"We'll catch up." They said.

Papyrus stared at them, nodded, and sprinted to the boatmen as his friends headed toward Waterfall. They all had their doubts, but really they were desperate enough to pursue it. Papyrus raced toward the river, kicking up snow and dirt, spouting out apologies to anyone who happened to get caught in it. In reality, he was moving incredibly quickly. But to himself, he couldn't have been moving any slower even if he wanted to.

When he arrived at the river, he found the Riverperson waiting for him and quickly jumped onto the boat.

"PLEASE TAKE ME TO HOTLAND!" He spouted out, naming the port closest to Asgore's castle. The Riverperson gave a slight nod of their head, the boat grew legs, and then they were skipping across the surface of the water. Papyrus bounced anxiously, chewing on the tips of his fingers as he stared at the roaring currents. So many questions ran through his skull. So many concerns.

The Riverperson turned, looked at him, and then returned his gaze forward.

 **Tra La La, you shouldn't let the human near him.**


	21. Chapter 21

Alphys let Undyne carry her. She got the feeling she couldn't walk, even if she wanted to. Her mind was somewhere else. Her worry was everywhere. Something was going to go horribly, horribly wrong. She could tell. She knew. Something, someone, was going to ruin everything. And Sans trusted her to fix it. She wish he didn't.

The group switched between walking and running. They ignored the curious glances Toriel and Frisk were given. Something more important was happening. Alphys hated herself, for many things, but for right now she hated that she wished Papyrus hadn't gone by boat. Between the four of them, it was far too quiet. And Papyrus would've certainly said _something._ Undyne would, usually. But right now her eyes were narrowed, one corner of her mouth drawn up. She clearly wasn't feeling very talky. Whether that was from the human not a yard away from them or everything happening with Sans, it was unclear.

It took far too long. After Snowdin, they reached Waterfall. After Waterfall, they reached Hotland. There they took the elevator to Asgore's castle. And then they had to walk some more, down far too many long, empty halls. With nothing aside the sound of footsteps, of breathing and frantic hearts.

* * *

Papyrus sprinted his way to Asgore's castle after jumping off the boat. The Riverperson's message bounced about in his skull. Don't let the human near him….?

How much does that strange person know?

He had no time to dawdle on that. He needed to make sure his brother was actually- actually- …There? Alive? Okay? Papyrus had no idea what to expect. He just knew two things right now: Sans was with Asgore, he was going to him.

That's all he needed.

His long, bony legs carried him up and over the pathways and into the large gray, brick house of the King. Wasting no time, but trying not to be rude, he called out:

"KING ASGORE!"

The large, blonde goat king poked his head out from the opening of the right corridor. He smiled warmly upon seeing the skeleton in his doorway.

"Oh, Papyrus." He motioned him to follow with a flick of his claws "This way, please." He turned and lead the way back. Papyrus followed nervously, shifting his feet and trying to peer around Asgore's tall form. He wished the king would walk faster. As it was, his lumbering space was painstakingly slow. Papyrus bounced on his knees and tried not to be rude.

Asgore cast a look over his shoulder at the anxious skeleton, turned his gaze back and subtly picked up the pace. The walk to the room wasn't all that long, but he could understand Papyrus's impatience. This was his brother after all.

He stopped in front of a door, motioning for the younger brother to go inside. There was no hesitation. In fact, before Asgore finished his motion, Papyrus practically kicked down the door into the room. He sprung like a frog to Sans's bedside.

The small skeleton was still asleep, his eye sockets shut and the strings reaching from his soul swaying lazily back and forth. Had Papyrus been more inquisitive, he would've asked about the strings, or how Sans had got there. But at the time, he was so overtaken with the joy of seeing his brother alive he accepted it as is.

Papyrus released a breath he didn't know he was holding and took a seat next to Sans's bedside, staring over the side of the king-sized bed in a bit of a comedic matter. Asgore fidgeted in the doorway a moment, waiting for Papyrus to say or ask something. After several minutes, the king gathered he wasn't going to say anything and dismissed himself on the notion he was going to make some tea. Papyrus didn't point out the already elaborate array of teacups, filled with cold tea, on the bedside stand.

The strings reaching out from Sans's soul all seemed to gravitate toward Papyrus, brushing lightly against his bones. Once the contact was made, the blue skeleton seemed to visibly relax. Papyrus didn't have to force his skeletal grin, reaching across the bed to gently stroke at his brother's skull. The threads wrapped loosely around his forearms, hanging like vines. Sans twisted himself, facing his brother although he was still soundly asleep. Papyrus held his hand. Sans held back.

They both needed this break.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Wow, what a short chapter. I stand true to the last line though. So. I'll leave them and you guys off with this peaceful scene. Anyway, in chapter 19 while Sans and Chara had their confrontation, I used the phrase 'That damn smile'. That was an allusion to Indulgence-Ahoy's fic, 'My Brother's Keeper', which is amazing by the way. Seriously. If you like this fic, then you'll definitely like their's. Please go check it out.**

 **Also I'd like to thank you all so much for all the kind words! I don't believe I've ever felt as flattered as I had after chapter 19. All of you seemed to enjoy that a LOT and I tried my best to build up to it so I'm happy it paid off. Thank you so much!**

 **Tra La La, … I'm not actually the Riverperson.**


	22. Chapter 22

She watched. Smiling.

The group of four carried on through the long, empty halls. Alphys seemed scared. That's funny. Undyne was angry, always hilarious. Toriel was silent. Frisk was fidgeting, looking around anxiously. Which was also funny.

Her chest hurt from where she was hit. Were she alive, a bruise would probably grace that spot. As it was, the damn skeleton's magic had sunk into her pseudo-flesh, poisoning her senses and causes her a great pain that burned and seared at flesh that was not there. The funny thing was, he probably had no intention of doing this. But he did, the magic of his soul bared to her in the space of his void. The magic of Judgement. Karmic Retribution. Such despised things to the girl. She hated him.

But she smiled.

Because she was going to have fun.

Silently, a spectator, she watched. And smiled.

They reached the castle. Asgore stared at Toriel. Toriel dismissed him, shielding Frisk, and demanded to know the whereabouts of the skeleton brothers. Frisk twitched, subtlety. But they shook it off, dismissing it as nerves. Stupid. Then they and Toriel, and Alphys and Undyne, went in to check on Sans. Who was sleeping.

She frowned.

Too easy. She can wait a little bit. And besides, she's always been a fan of theatrics. There wasn't much to work off of in this setting. Far too domestic. She'll leave him for now.

Better Tell Flowey.


	23. Chapter 23

Toriel sat on the far side of the room, Frisk pulled up onto her lap. The large goat woman's eyes were locked on Asgore, glaring. He didn't make a move toward them and busied himself by being informed of the situation by Undyne. Alphys seemed frozen, her misted glasses pointed in the general direction of the skeletons. Papyrus had yet to leave his brother's side, still holding his hand and paying little mind to the glowing white strings that drifted about. The small skeleton's soul was not visible, however. Possibly hidden underneath his clothes and blankets.

Asgore nodded somberly to the tale. He seemed concerned. And confused. As they all were. Frisk kicked their little legs, finding great fascinating in their shoes. A frown was on their small face, and their gaze kept flicking over to their unconscious friend. Overall, it was silent.

Then a small noise. Alphys looked up from her glasses and scurried over to the bedside. The rest of them just focused on the spot. The blankets rustled. The strings twitched about, but not viciously. Rather confused, actually. Like they were confused little ferrets sticking their heads out from the burrows in the dead of night.

"….ugh…." said a low, quiet voice. Sans opened his eyes. Still blue, but no one pointed that out. Instead there was a collective sigh of relief.

"BROTHER!" Papyrus screeched, magic tears flowing freely from his eye sockets as he enveloped his half-awake brother in a suffocating-if-he-had-lungs hug. His strings shot out, stiffened at the hug's squeeze, then went limp again.

"hey pappy." Sans choked out. He smiled. It was tired, but it seemed real.

"S-sans!" Alphys butted in "H-how are you f-f-feeling? I-is e-everth-thing alr-r-right-"

"deep breathes, alphy." Sans directed. He brought his hand toward himself, then pushed outward to accent his command. His strings mimicked his hand's motion.

"B-but-"

"BOUT TIME YOU WOKE UP!" Undyne interrupted ignorantly. "I COULD _KILL_ YOU RIGHT NOW, SANS!"

"Isn't that what caused this?" Frisk murmured. Undyne shot them a glare that, again, went ignored. Sans winked at the human.

"thanks, frisk. i was _dying_ to tell this joke." He chuckled. Toriel and Frisk both gifted him with awkward, strained smiles.

"NOT FUNNY RIGHT NOW, SANS!" Papyrus yelled, tightening the hug.

"S-sans-" Alphys tried to get his attention.

"How are you feeling now?" Asgore asked.

Tried.

"eh…tired. in pain." Sans responded to the king. He looked around "we in the castle?" Asgore nodded "neat."

"Sans, are you going to be okay?" Frisk asked, dropping down from Toriel's lap and scurrying on over. Undyne glared at them, but Sans held out an arm to stop her.

"hey undyne, remember how i told y'all about RESETs?" he asked sleepily.

"Duh." Undyne muttered. Sans winked.

"the kid there is your bestie. so play nice" he requested. Undyne blinked her confusion and looked down at the human, who smiled up at her. She muttered something and looked away.

"IS THE HUMAN MY BESTIE TOO?" Papyrus asked.

Sans nodded "yep. a few times you two went out." Frisk blushed, puffing out their cheeks in a pout.

"I just told 'im his scarf was nice and he thought I was flirting!" they frantically explained.

"OH HUMAN, I DID NOT KNOW YOU THOUGHT THAT WAY ABOUT ME!" Papyrus grinned, blushing dramatically. Frisk looked annoyed as a soft murmur of laughter swept through the room. Papyrus sweated nervously "BUT-ER…. I'M AFRAID THE FEELING IS NOT MUTUAL…"

"Kay." Frisk said, changing the subject by referring back to Sans "You told 'em about the RESETs?"

Sans nodded "didn't really have much of a choice."

"Oh." Frisk frowned. They looked around the room, concern dripping from their voice "Are you all okay?"

"I'll be fine." Undyne rolled her eyes, still avoiding the Human's gaze. Alphys nodded, tried to speak again, but her voice came out as a coarse cough. Toriel smiled down at Frisk and pulled them into a hug.

"I SHALL BE FINE, HUMAN. NOW THAT SANS IS HERE." Papyrus chirped, squeezing his brother like a teddy bear. Sans paid no mind to this and instead focused his attention on his strings. His eye sockets narrowed as he moved them about.

"er.. are these gonna be permanent?" Sans asked, looking to Alphys.

She shook her head "N-no. I d-don't think s-s-so." The small scientist frowned "B-but S-sans-"

He cut her off with a wave of his hand and an expression that said 'we'll talk later'. Alphys nodded.

Asgore glanced about "…Er, I'll go get started on dinner." He said, excusing himself and scurrying out of the room. Toriel glared after him. Frisk smiled up at her.

"He killed me a few times." They said cheerfully. Toriel's grip on them tightened and she snorted.

"Did he?" she didn't really ask, as it came out as growl. Frisk's expression darkened at the realization that they done goof'd. They looked to Sans frantically for assistance, but the small skell was busy waving his soul strings around. So the human frantically tried to resolve the situation.

"Undyne killed me more, though-" they slapped their hands over their mouth and realized that might have been the wrong thing to say. Toriel's glare moved to the fishy warrior, whom sweated nervously.

"What?" she asked "I KILLED you?" she thought about it for a moment, clearly confused by the statement.

"T-the R-RESETS." Alphys helpfully explained "E-everytime th-they died, a R-RESET would happen a-and they'd just g-go back to when th-they were alive."

Frisk nodded "Yep." They grimaced "And it hurt."

"Oh. Shit." Undyne frowned. Both Sans and Toriel gave her a look that any normal person would break into tears at. "I mean…Shiz." She corrected herself. Frisk waved her off.

"I've heard ya swear before!" they grinned. Toriel snarled.

"Sorry, sorry!" Undyne apologized, backing away "Damn- Darn, I didn't know." She rolled her eyes.

"I HAVE ALSO HEARD UNDYNE SWEAR BEFORE!" Papyrus chirped "BUT I KNOW SANS DOESN'T APPRECIATE THAT LANGUAGE SO I AVOID USING IT."

Sans gave him a look then reached up to pat him on the head. His strings mimicked the motion, so several appendages were patting the tall skeleton's skull. "thanks bro."

"OF COURSE, BROTHER!" Papyrus grinned.

"the _sans_ -timent really tugs at my _heart strings."_ He winked, threads mimicking a shrug.

"OH MY GOD, SANS!" Papyrus vibrated angrily.

Frisk laughed "I guess you didn't find it _humerus."_

Sans chuckled "a bit overused _tibia_ honest."

"But still quite _punny_ , my child." Toriel giggled.

"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus snapped. He still refused to put Sans down. Alphys smiled at the spectacle as Undyne growled.

" _ENOUGH WITH THE DAMN PUNS!"_ She snarled.

"Will normal puns suffice?" Frisk blinked innocently. Undyne looked down on them, then strayed one hand to pat them on the head.

"You're a cute little rugrat, y'know that PUNK?" she hissed, grinning although her tone disagreed with the expression.

Frisk smiled up at her, even when Toriel dragged them cautiously away.

"A-anyway…." Alphys blinked, she turned to Sans. Her eyes locked on one of his strings, she strayed out a hand and slowly pinched the end. Sans let out a hiss of pain. Alphys snatched her hand back, tears pricking the corner of her eyes "O-Oh m g-g-god! S-sans I'm S-sorry! I-I didn't kn-kn-know-"

Sans dismissed her stammerings with a wave, grimacing "i'm okay alphy…. just a bit sore…."

Alphys looked away and fidgeted. "S-sorry."

Sans sighed "someone hug her, would ya?"

"Okay!" "GOT IT!" Frisk and Undyne cheered at the same time. Frisk got to Alphys first, wrapping the small scientist in a warm and sincere hug. Undyne embraced the two of them short after, picking them both up and squeezing them.

"METAPHORICAL HUG!" Papyrus chirped from the side. He still kept Sans in his hug. Both of them were fine with this.

Toriel smiled, although a bit wary. She trusted the child, but Undyne still unnerved her. So. She watched. Or glared, perhaps.

Alphys grinned a bit "U-uh thanks…" she stammered. She patted Frisk's head "S-sorry I d-don't remember you."

"It's cool." They chirped. Then gave a wink "Like ice."

Sans laughed " _ice_ one."

"You certainly _snow_ your jokes, my child!" Toriel laughed, snorting.

Undyne rolled her eyes and put them down. One hand on her hip, she tapped her foot and looked down on Frisk.

"So _how'd_ we become friends, again?" she snarled.

"We had a cooking lesson!" Frisk grinned, their brown eyes lighting up as they dived into the story "It was really fun! Papyrus set it up and then you made me tea and then we had a talk and then we cooked and then we set your house on fire and then we fought again and then we were friends-" they stopped and inhaled deeply as their face was beginning to turn blue "-and then you moved in with papyrus and then-"

"that's enough kiddo." Sans cut them off "it's important to breathe."

"IT IS?" Papyrus gasped. He fidgeted nervously "B-BUT SANS, I HAVEN'T BEEN BREATHING."

"we don't have lungs." "P-probably because you don't need to breath." "It's just something people with lungs do, Paps." Sans, Alphys, and Undyne all explained to him.

"OH." Papyrus blinked.

"H-how….?" Frisk whispered to themselves. Toriel looked down on them.

"Hm?"

"How did Papyrus blink….?" They asked again, looking up to their Goat Mom "He doesn't have eyelids." They seemed genuinely disturbed by this. Toriel giggled, covering her snout with one paw.

"Skeleton Monsters have a malleable structure, my child. Meaning they can change their expression by changing their skull." She explained.

"Oh." Frisk blinked. They fidgeted "Okay, that makes more sense."

Sans chuckled. "You mean makes more _sans,_ right?"

Frisk laughed "I guess!"

Undyne muttered under her breathe "So we set my house on fire…?" she pondered. Her grin twitched up and she yelled "THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE WHY WE'RE FRIENDS! NOTHING SAYS **BESTIES** LIKE SETTING SOMEONE'S HOUSE ON FIRE!"

"we're not besties." Sans said quickly.

"UNDYNE PLEASE DON'T SET OUR HOUSE ON FIRE." Papyrus asked, sweating nervously.

Toriel chuckled, holding Frisk's hand. Alphys smiled along, but it seemed strained. Her eyes were focused elsewhere, blurry behind the shining glasses. One hand strayed to press on her beating heart, trying to calm it. Her lungs didn't seem to want to work. Her trembling wouldn't reside. She couldn't shake the feeling that this hadn't yet reached its climax.

 _She watched. Smiling._

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Kinda a slow chapter…. I needed some puns and humor. And return of the 'Tried' joke. Sorry. Just because the next few chapters are going to be a circus.**

 **Y'know.**

 **IN-TENTS**

 **Also…. I'm not sure if my update schedule will remain constant. I actually have a lot of stuff I'm doing this summer. I'll make an effort though. There WONT be an update on June 22nd! I know that for certain! I'll be at camp!**


	24. Chapter 24

The group sat around the table, drinking tea and eating little sweets. Papyrus sat very close to his older brother who leaned across the table. His soul-strings made a show of pouring him some tea and grabbing him a few snacks as the human child smiled and laughed at the spectacle. Sans grinned down on them, and this pushed him more to show off. Alphys spared a glance or two toward him, nibbling on a corner of a square of cake. Toriel sat next to Frisk, smiling at them. Undyne noisily led Sans on. Asgore smiled warmly, ears twitching occasionally under the influence of Toriel's periodic glare.

"You're getting really good with those!" Frisk grinned.

"am i?" Sans grinned, twirling his empty teacup with one string.

"YES, BUT SANS-" Papyrus said "AREN'T YOU WORRIED THAT MAYBE THOSE WON'T LEAVE…?"

"eh." Sans shrugged at his brother "i'll learn to live with 'em, then."

"WELL I SUPPOSE THAT WOULD BE YOUR ONLY CHOICE…" Papyrus muttered. Beads of nervous sweat slicked down his skull "BUT I'M UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE IDEA OF YOUR SOUL BEING OUT AND ABOUT ALL THE TIME."

"same." Sans said. One string wrapped around the handle of the tea pot, another suspending the cup. The pot was inclined slightly, allowing the beverage to pour into the cup. All this while Sans leaned back in his chair, hands in his pockets and his eye sockets closed. "though, it's oddly a lot easier to use these then my hands."

"Don't be so…. Stringy, Sans." Frisk grinned their strange grin. Sans tilted his skull and studied them for a moment, and then ruffled their hair.

"i get it. nice." He said. Toriel allowed a soft laugh.

"I DON'T GET IT." Papyrus whined "HOW CAN I COMPLAIN ABOUT THE PUN IF I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT?"

"It sounds like 'stingy'." Toriel explained.

"BUT IT DOESN'T." Papyrus pouted.

"yeah, took me a minute too." Sans shrugged. He winked at Frisk "but it was still nice."

"Yay!" Frisk chirped "I'm the Pun Master! The…" they thought a moment "Punster?"

"all hail the mighty Punster." Sans said, his strings waving to motion to the human child. Toriel giggled.

"All hail." She said like a wistful sigh, curtsying slightly. Frisk sprang to their feet, balancing on their chair and struck a familiar pose.

"HEY!" Papyrus blurted out "THAT'S MY POSE!"

"Nyeh heh heh!" Frisk laughed. Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets and sprang to his feet as well.

"BESIDES, HUMAN!" he said, striking the same pose, but with sparkles somehow "THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT!"

"Oh!" Frisk nodded "I see!" They tried again, posing dramatically. The ratings went up by 200. Sans eyed the magically appearing ratings chart, leaning on one hand and arching a magical skeleton eyebrow. One of his strings gave it an experimental poke or two.

Breaking the Fourth Wall! +200

Sans blinked, shrugged, and went back to ignoring the flawed humor in this chapter.

"So, Sans, how are you feeling?" Toriel asked.

Sans shrugged "better. i mean, i'm not dead."

"That's always a plus." Frisk nodded. Sans fidgeted, stretching out his strings and his arms.

"YOU SEEM TO BE GETTING A BIT RESTLESS, BROTHER." Papyrus said.

"yeah." Sans muttered. He turned toward Alphys "uh…are my eyes still blue?"

Alphys nodded "Y-yeah."

"Is that good?" Frisk said "You seem a lot more energetic."

"huh. do i?" Sans hummed. He shrugged "maybe it means something."

"Y-yeah. Sans c-can I t-talk to you for a m-moment?" Alphys stammered "I-I really want to t-talk to you."

"got it." Sans said. He turned to the remaining company "can ya guys leave us for a bit?"

Undye muttered something "All right."

"BUT IF YOU NEED US, WE WILL BE IN THE OTHER ROOM!" Papyrus added cheerfully. He picked Frisk up and put them on his shoulders "LET US GO, HUMAN!"

"Okay Papyrus!" they chirped. The tall skeleton turned, casting a concerned look over his shoulder and left theroom. Undyne gave them a glare and followed. Toriel gave Sans a pat and scrambled to follow Frisk and Papyrus. Asgore dismissed himself and left the room.

"…S-so do you k-know what is wrong w-with your eyes?" Alphys blurted out.

"rude." Sans shrugged. He fidgeted a moment "honestly, i have a theory."

"S-so?" Alphys said, taking a step towards him.

"Eh…" Sans said. He fidgeted "Well, from what we know, my SOUL is synced up to its own timeline, right? And everytime my SOUL pulls me together, it's probably striving to make me more stable. So, it might have fixed my other eye-"

"Are both eyes s-supposed to light up?" Alphys asked.

Sans shrugged "a long time ago."

"O-oh." She said. She fidgeted a bit, shuffling her feet in a way that looked similar to a cute little dance. A moment or two passed before she muttered "…W-what happened?"

Sans shrugged again "Chara showed up. Tried to steal my SOUL to give it to Flowey."

"W-what? N-No I meant with your eyes-" At Sans's blank stare she sighed. With a slight tug at her color she refocused on what Sans said, realizing that was probably more important. "W-why would she do that?"

"Apparently he used to be Asriel." Sans explained "Just… a Flower and without a SOUL- Alphys?"

The small scientist had started to tremble, her glasses fogging up and her tail beginning to wrap around her small form. Sans took a few step forward, the strings of his SOULs parting for him. He put his hands on both of her shoulders and spoke softly.

"Alphy, look at me." She didn't. Sans lifted the pitch of his voice a bit and steadied the grip on her shoulders "Alphy?"

"S-sorry." Alphys stammered, wiping a few tears from her eyes. "I-I…. Uh…. Flowey is Asriel?"

Sans nodded. "Why?"

"I…Uh…." Alphys fidgeted. "S-sans…. C-c-c-c-c-c-c" she gulped "I-I-"

"Y'need a hug?" Sans asked. Alphys nodded and promptly received a hug. She wrapped her arms around Sans's neck and nestled her face between his shoulder and skull. They held each other and listened to the ticking sounds of a clock. Sans's strings squiggled a moment and lightly patted Alphys's head. She shuddered and pulled back.

"S-sorry Sans." She sniffled "It seems whenever something bad h-happens to you, you always end up c-comforting _me_."

"don't worry." Sans said. He patted her head "i know your connection with the plant. sorry, i should've watched what i said."

Alphys shook her head "N-nevermind that." She wiped her glasses with the edge of her coat and put them back onto her face. "S-so Chara is trying to take your SOUL for Flowey?"

"Alphys." Sans frowned "Do ya need to talk-"

"No." Alphys said sharply. She shook her head "I'll be fine." Another awkward moment of silence "So, Chara wants your SOUL?" she toyed with her claws "S-so you g-got away from her this time. Do y-you think that's it? That she'll q-quit?"

Sans stared Alphys down a moment. Then slowly answered "honestly, no. i've dealt with this kid before and…uh… she's pretty determined." He shook his head "I know for a fact that she won't quit."

"How do we stop her, then?" Alphys frowned. Sans didn't have a response, so he didn't offer one. Alphys saw this. They simply stood in silence. Listening to the ticking of a clock. Alphys swallowed nervously. She spoke "Do you think Frisk can help-"

 ** _"NO."_** Sans snapped. His blazed bright, the darkness in his sockets growing in intensity the same as his eyes grew brighter. Alphys flinched, stumbling back a step. Sans's eyes widened and he retreated as well, shrugging into himself. "sorry."

"It's o-okay." Alphys mumbled quietly. Sans fidgeted, took a deep breathe, then explained:

"Frisk has dealt with Chara before. They're putting a brave face on right now, but she scares them. A few times…." He cringed "…A few times… Uh…a few timelines she took them over…. And made them do something... ghastly…"

Alphys stared "…oh." She nodded "O-okay. I get not dragging them into this. S-sorry-"

"you didn't know." Sans interrupted darkly.

… "Yeah." she sighed. "S-sans, she'll just try again, right? Chara will?"

"probably." Sans said.

Alphys frowned "Sans, how can I help?"

"I don't know." Sans said.

"Oh." Alphys fidgeted. "…Will Chara try a RESET?"

"i don't know." Sans said "she might. if she feels like it'd work. but really right now, i doubt it. i'm kind of vulnerable right now." He stretched his soul strings to emphasize.

"Oh." Alphys said. "So she'll probably try again in this timeline. So I won't forget."

Sans tensed "…uh, yeah."

"So I have a chance to help." Alphys nodded, eyes narrowing as her thoughts began to rocket into action "Sans, I'll find a way to help you. To stop this. To stop Chara." She turned on heel and began to walk out the door "I'm heading to my lab. Keep me on speed dial."

"wait- what-" Sans blinked "uh. okay, you're gone." He fidgeted and watched after her. His grin tilted down into a frown. "what is it she's going to do?"

* * *

 **A/N**

 **FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK**

 **SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY THIS CHAPTER IS SLOW I THOUGHT I HAD IT WRITTEN AND I DIDN'T SO I HAD TO WRITE IT ON THE DAY I MEANT TO UPDATE IT AND SO IT'S BEING UPDATED ON A THURSDAY AND I'M SORRY OH MY GOSH I NEED TO REVISE THIS SO I'M SORRY NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE MORE EXCITING I PROMISE.**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N**

 **Hey folks! It's me, the author! My notes are going to be here this time around because I got a few things to say.**

 **First! Thank you all soooo much for your attention! I love it when I get new readers and I love that so many old(ish) readers stuck around so long! (blows a kiss) I'm so happy so many of you love this story so much!**

 **Secondly! I'm sorry to do this, but this fic will NOT update next week. I got camp to go to!**

 **That's all from me! For now….**

 **Tra la la**

* * *

Sans trudged over to the next room, hands in his pockets and murmurs in his heart. Thoughts and theories whirled about in his skull. But he made sure his grin was present as he became visible to his remaining friends. He walked into the middle of Papyrus kneeling in front of the human child, showing them some of the tricks he could do with blue magic and bones. Asgore apparently had slunked away to a backroom to avoid Toriel. Which was completely understandable.

"Hi Sans!" Frisk chirped, holding Toriel's hand. The large goat woman turned to look at him, whispered questions in her eyes.

"Sans, Alphys just left in a bit of a rush. Is something happening?" she asked.

Sans shrugged "Alphy just thought of something interesting. she is a scientist, so, yeah."

Frisk nodded "That makes sense. Undyne went with her." They added.

"YES SHE DID." Papyrus said, bouncing to his feet. "IT'S GOOD TO SEE DOCTOR ALPHYS SO MOTIVATED."

Sans nodded "yeah."

…

"You're really bad at keeping a conversmashun" Frisk muttered.

"It is pronounced 'conversation', my child." Toriel corrected. She snickered a bit and gave Sans a wink "And frankly, I disagree."

"DO YOU AND MY BROTHER SPEAK OFTEN, MISS TORIEL?" Papyrus asked. Toriel nodded.

"Ah, yes. He is quite an intriguing story teller." She said. The tall skeleton and human child turned to look at the small skeleton.

"…REALLY?" Papyrus blinked.

"Maybe he just does better if he can't see who he's talking to?" Frisk suggested. They hit their balled fist to their palm "That makes sense! I mean, Sans is really good at reading facial expressions so maybe they can be a bit disshtracsting-"

"'Distracting'." Toriel corrected softly. She smiled at Sans "And that could very well be it. Most people are better at speaking when not face-to-face."

Sans gave a wink "well t, in our case, it'd be face-to-waist."

Toriel laughed "Oh goodness, Sans."

"THAT IS TRUE. YOU ARE QUITE TALL COMPARED TO MY BROTHER, MISS TORIEL." Papyrus chirped.

"Sans is smoll." Frisk giggled.

"rude." Sans muttered. He gave another wink "i consider myself fun-sized."

"Hah!" Frisk laughed.

"More like…" Toriel trailed off.

"… _PUN-sized?"_ Sans grinned. Frisk burst into a giggle fit as the two older pun-lovers chuckled along.

"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus screeched, throwing his hands onto his face and groaning in pain at the pun. He stomped his foot angrily. "SANS, YOU WERE JUST DEAD! CAN YOU NOT GO SO CRAZY WITH PUNS!?"

"eh." sans winked "you just don't find 'em _punny."_

"HA!" Frisk howled with laughter. They slapped one small hand across their knee "You're killing me!" Sans's eyes went black and he forced an awkward laugh. Papyrus fidgeted awkwardly.

"Um…My child…" Toriel stooped down to whisper in their ear "Probably not the best phrase to use right now…."

"Huh?" Frisk blinked. They thought a moment when a vibrant red flushed across their cheeks "O-Oh! S-sorry Sans!"

"eh." the blue-eyed skeleton shrugged "no skin off my back."

"Because you're a skeleton!" Frisk pointed "I get it!"

"SANS, YOU USED THAT JOKE RECENTLY." Papyrus pouted, crossing his arms "GET SOME NEW MATERIAL."

"eh. good…" he winked and pointed one boney finger at him "point."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGH!" Papyrus groaned "SANS!"

"I thought it was funny." Frisk chirped.

"It was, but still." Toriel said "Perhaps we should back off on the jokes for now. Unless they are unavoidable of course."

Papyrus sighed "I SUPPOSE THAT'S BETTER THAN CONSTANT PUNS."

"That it is." Toriel nodded. She thought a moment "Perhaps a walk would benefit us all, hm?"

"Yeah!" Frisk grinned. "Let's go for a walk!" They ran over to Sans and gripped his hand. The two exchanged a smile and Sans ruffled their hair.

"eh. sure. for once i actually do feel kind of restless." Sans said. He looked to his brother "how 'bout you, Pappy?"

"OF COURSE!" he struck a familiar pose "THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALWAYS READY FOR WALKS!"

"heh." Sans chuckled. He gave Frisk a quick wink, then led the way out of New Home. The four took a leisurely stroll, chattering on about anything that might keep their minds off of recent events. Frisk hummed responses as Papyrus rambled on about spaghetti. Sans and Toriel offered some brief comments. It seemed like a quick journey through the long, gray corridor that led to the Judgement Hall.

One step through and sudden everything lit up golden through windows made of shards of colored class. Marble columns stood on at attention on the sides, straight as soldiers. Papyrus's voice seemed even more boisterous, echoing off the walls and coming back as a boom. It didn't take long for him and the human child to make a game of it.

"HELLO!" Frisk yelled, cupping their hands around their mouth.

 _Hello Hello Hello_ … greeted the echo.

"HIYA!" Papyrus waved.

 _HIYA Hiya hiya…._ Responded the walls. The taller skeleton and the human shared in a giggle, finding great amusement in their little endeavor. Sans and Toriel chuckled, their young companions' glee beginning to rub off on them. The two shared a bit of a smile and watched their friends with fond expressions. So even that lengthy hallway didn't seem as long anymore.

About halfway through, Papyrus yelled out:

"HOW ARE YOU TODAY?" He bounced eagerly as he awaited his echo to respond, cupping on hand to where his ear should be.

"Pretty swell, how about you?" responded a voice.

"Uh…." Frisk frowned, looking around "…That….was an echo?"

"…I DO NOT THINK SO, HUMAN." Papyrus blinked.

Sans spread his feet apart, glaring around. Toriel flexed out her claws, bringing forth a bright orange flame. Her free hand pulled Frisk to her side.

" _WHERE ARE YOU, PLANT!?"_ Sans shouted. His words didn't echo.

The group waited for a response, the two more hostile ones ready to leap into action. But the only reply they got was the _CRACK_ of marble and stone as vines broke through. From their left, the slivery foliage quickly entangled Papyrus. From the right, they lashed out and pulled Toriel back to the wall.

Papyrus let out a yelp of surprise as he slammed against a column, the vines tightening painfully around his ribcage. Toriel immediately began to bite and claw. But her restraints seemed to predict this. They lashed out and crushed her paws against the wall.

 _"PAP!"_ Sans yelled, beginning to dart for his brother.

"GOAT MOM!" Frisk shrieked. Upon hearing the child's cry, Sans skidded to a halt and turned back to them.

"Kid, don't get close to them-" he tried to warn, grabbing their wrist.

"B-but-!" Frisk choked down a sob. They only spared the blue-eyed skeleton a brief, desperate glance before staring at Toriel. "M-Mom!"

" _MOMMY MOMMY!"_ Cried a high voice. Sans and Frisk looked down and forward to spot a small flower poking up from the ground. Flowey leaned forward, hissing the words through his teeth _"THAT'S what you sound like!"_

"Let them go!" Frisk yelled, stopping their foot. Sans pulled the human child in closer, lifting his left hand out of his pocket. His mitten burned off, dissolving into dust from the wild blue magic blazing from his fingertips.

" _You heard 'em, PLANT."_ Sans growled _"Just let 'em go. And be snappy."_

"Hmm….. Hmmmm…." Flowey hummed, bending his stem back and forth with each 'hm' "See, the thing is, I _COULD._ " His lips parted into a sinister grin "But, then again, **_I don't want to."_**

Sans's eyes began to burn. Blue flames crawled onto the sides of his skull and his Soulstrings lashed about wildly. The shadows of the hall became darker. His grin only seemed to widen. _"WRONG CHOICE, SPROUT-"_

 _"_ _ **GUESS AGAIN, SMILEY TRASHBAG!"**_ Flowey cackled. Sans didn't care enough to respond, summoning up a Gaster Blaster when he stopped suddenly. Choking.

Struggling to breath, he shakily looked down at his small charge. Frisk smiled up at him. With Chara's eyes. She leaned up into his face and said silkily **"I win this time."** He didn't have time to offer a comedic retort before she yanked his SOUL out of his body.

"BROTHER!" Papyrus screamed, pulling foreward on his restraints. Sans's body fell onto the ground, settling as dust.

"Frisk, why would you-" Toriel started, staring wide-eyed.

 **"Wrong human, MOTHER."** The last word was spat. Chara smiled at Toriel, silencing her with shock. The SOUL reached for the dust with shaky dim strings. Chara tore them out, harshly and with a sickeningly _SNAP!_ The girl giggled and strolled up to the flower, looking down on him. **"Good work, Flowey."**

"Oh, Golly." Flowey chirped, bending his stem and blushing ever so slightly "Thanks Chara." He straightened and bared his teeth into a gleeful sneer " ** _Now you're gonna cross the Barrier, right? AND DESTROY ALL THOSE STUPID HUMANS-"_**

 **"No."** Chara interrupted. Flowey blinked his confusion, leaning back as the human knelt before him. She smiled warmly and held out the SOUL in her cupped hands **"It's for you, Asriel."**

Flowey stared at the SOUL, then back up at his sister. "W-what?"

She leaned in and hugged him **"I miss being with you, Azzy. I want us to go back to how things were."** She withdrew, offering the SOUL again **"With us. As brother and sister."**

Flowey looked up at her, eyes wide and watering. He smiled "Thank you, Chara!"

Chara smiled, tilting her head, and pushed Sans's SOUL into the flower, who absorbed it eagerly.

Light blue flashed upon the collision, blinding everyone for the moment it lasted and a moment more. Papyrus blinked his eye sockets, desperately trying to adjust them and he felt the vines give way. He landed on his hands and knees but was still struggling to see. When his vision cleared, he saw one more child than what there was before.

Chara was helping up a small, goat-like monster in a striped sweater. But the monster seemed more like patchwork. Where his ears were supposed to be were two large yellow petals. His tail replaced with a vine adorned with various thorns. And when he blinked open his eyes, they were dark, dark black with white pinpricks for his pupils. He smiled up at Chara with fangs a bit too sharp. Then he straightened himself, still holding on his sister's hand. The two smiled at each other, then to the other two monsters in the room.

"What do we do with them?" Asriel asked.

 **"Oh, that's obvious."** Chara chirped. Her eyes seemed to glow **"We play with them."** Asriel looked at her for a moment, grinning broadly. He threw his head back, cackling wildly. The Flower's dark smile spread across the former prince's face.

"S ** _O_** **U** N _D_ **S** ** _L_** **I** _K_ **E** ** _FU_** _N_."


	26. Chapter 26

...

 _where am i?_

 _...where are my hands….?_

… _._

 _ugh…_

… _._

 _oh, there they are. …_

 _wait_

 _uh… something seems off here._

… _.those are…claws? paws? paws with claws?_

…

 _oh._

…

 _i….damn, i…. i can't… …_

 _heh… i guess i'm really not 'myself' right now…._

 _heh heh…._

… _._

 _heh_

 _..._

…

 _well, fuck my life._


	27. Chapter 27

" **Who first, Azzy?"** Chara chirped, scanning her potential victims. Papyrus trembled, staring at his brother's dust and showing little to no sign of acknowledgement. Toriel stared, wide-eyed and shaking at her two children, revived from the dead.

"M-My children…" She stammered.

"Mother." Asriel smiled pleasantly. He grinned wickedly _**"So glad to see you again."**_

The goat woman, still trembling, stumbled to her feet. Her feet dragged along the golden tiles. Claws making soft, barely audible noises of scraping across the floor. Tears pricked in the corners of her eyes. One hand went to cover her mouth, the other shakily reaching for her children.

"C-chara, A-Asriel…." She said, her voice shaking with threatening sobs.

" **How despicable."** Her daughter's voice both silenced and stilled her. Trembling amber irises focused on the red glow of the human's eyes. Underneath them, sat a smile. Chara took a step forward, brandishing the kitchen knife **"Your friend just died in front of you, and you instantly forget him. Do you have any sense of loyalty?"** Toriel took a step back. This small action seemed to amuse Chara, as her smile grew wider. **"Hah! I guess not."** She turned to look at Asriel **"Look at this, she was just SO happy to see us but once I remind her of what we just did, she completely forgets it."**

Asriel shrugged, smirking "I know. Sad, right?"

" **Doesn't she ALWAYS do this?"** Chara said. She tilted her head, practically going limp above the shoulders. **"And what about Frisk?"**

Toriel flinched.

" **HAH!"** Chara grinned **"You forgot about THEM too? God, just how** _ **pathetic**_ **are you?"**

The large goat woman opened her mouth. Once, twice, as if trying to take in enough air to respond. A moment later and she closed her jaw—evaded her gaze. She wrung her hands and offered no defense.

Chara cackled **"Too easy."** Her wicked grin grew black as she raised her blade.

All this moved in slow motion to him.

Papyrus barely registered what was happening. In front of him sat the pile of Sans's dust. His hoodie, his slippers. Empty. Despite this being the fourth time this happened, it was still….still… he didn't know how to describe it. Like, like a weight. A shroud? The world suddenly felt heavier, the world felt darker. Less defined. He felt empty. Nothing crossed his thoughts, except that Sans was dead.

For good, this time?

He heard voices. But they were distant. Quiet and whispered.

" **DIE."**

Papyrus jolted up. Tearing his gaze away from what was left of his brother he stared as the human- Chara, moved to kill her- Toriel.

He moved without thinking. A quick grab of his red-mittened hand and he had the lady by the arm. He pulled her to him, out of the knife's path, and ran with her. She seemed to stumble along, staring blankly at their fleeing feet. A demonic hiss of frustration answered his actions. He picked up the pace.

"MISS TORIEL!" Papyrus huffed "IF YOU WOULD PLEASE RUN WITH ME!"

She offered no response.

Papyrus gritted his teeth, a low and frustrated screech vibrating through his jaw.

"MISS TORIEEEEEELLLLL!" he practically growled. The somehow threatening stomps of the children chasing after them were becoming increasingly louder. Papyrus took a quick glance behind him. Quickly he decided there was no point trying to reach her at this instant. He shifted his focus on keeping her alive. Luckily for him, Undyne had toured him around this area. So a quick turn and there would be an elevator-

He turned to look at the woman again. But behind her flopping ears he could see the demonic children in pursuit. Chara was smiling through her stolen face. Asriel roared threats after them, his fangs bared and claws sharp and eyes dark. Blue tinged the edges of his fur.

Papyrus swallowed, jamming his hand on the elevator's button repeatedly. He moved so he was in between his brother's friend and the two murderers. Asriel hissed at them, beginning to lunge when Chara held him back with a slight wave. Like a dog, Asriel recoiled. His eyes still locked on them.

They were toying with them.

Papyrus took a shaky breathe. Intuition and an analytical ability well-hidden bubbled to the surface of his being. They'd get in the elevator. All four of them. Toriel, in her current state, would be finished off quickly.

He pushed Toriel into the elevator as the doors opened. A quick slap of his hand, he clicked the down button. Before the duo could enter, he turned in the doorway and glared down at them. The elevator began to descend. Papyrus took a deep breath and rose his arm.

She smiled at him and jumped. Her knife flew towards his neck vertebrae but he ducked just in time, rolling away from the blow. Asriel tackled him at his knees, causing him to fall to the ground. Papyrus kicked him off, muttering a quick apology. He ducked just in time to keep the knife from his skull. Vines wrapped around his legs like snakes. Letting out a started shriek, Papyrus tugged his legs. Trying in vain to release himself as the children looked on. Asriel grinned sinisterly.

" **Well golly, that's useful."** He chuckled.

" **You can still use vines, Azzy?"** Chara smiled, tilting her head.

" **Seems so."**

" **Good. Kill him."**

Asriel cackled, winking at her. **"Sure t-t-th-"** his voice began to glitch, his jaws moving up and down like a twitch. The vines shriveled away to dust. Chara frowned, Papyrus looked up. The plant-goat gripped at his skull, digging his claws deep into his fur as he stumbled back.

" **Asriel."** Chara said curtly. She seemed annoyed.

Papyrus took a step back. A brief glance over his shoulder and he judged the distance between himself and his escape. He turned-

The human was in front of him. Something like black paint dripped out of her eyes and completely replaced her mouth. Not an ounce of concern was given to her struggling brother. **"You're not getting away from me that easily, Papyrus-"**

Papyrus growled, muttering some swear words under his breathe in frustration. He winced and immediately apologized for his language to no one.

"CHARA, PLEASE. I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT YOU-"

" **No one ever does."** She smiled.

Papyrus sighed "I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU-" he smiled "AND YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO HURT ME, DO YOU?" He forced himself to relax, drawing his feet in comfortably and holding his arms out "CHARA, I THINK YOU CAN DO BETTER! I BELIEVE IN YOU!"

Her right eye twitched, the corners of her black grin reaching up to the bottom of an ever-permanent blush. The room was filled with cackling. The child threw her head back, dark drops cascading down her cheek, chin and neck like blood. She threw her head forward, a harsh _SNAP_ accompanying the motion. Red dots shined from the pools of black blood that served as her eyes.

" _ **You ALWAYS say that."**_ She flicked out her knife _**"And I never listen."**_

"CHARA, PLEASE-" Papyrus began to beg. He reached for her with one hand but suddenly felt a small grip on his wrist. He looked down, instinctively tugging away. Asriel was sweating profusely, trembling with what may have been exhaustion. His fangs were bared and his claws dug into the skeleton's bony wrists.

His mouth moved but no sound came out. Papyrus breathed in sharply, glowing orange tears pricking the corners of his eyes. Then he was outside the elevator in the core, staring at its entrance. Shaking, he took a deep breath. He jumped at the hand on his shoulder and turned to see Toriel. Tear tracks stained her white fur and her eyes were red and swollen.

"Papyrus…are….are you well?" She asked in a voice no more than a whisper.

Papyrus wiped at his eye sockets, his hand sliding over the surface of his scar. He choked.

"I-I-….I WILL BE FINE." He said. "MISS TORIEL, ARE YOU OKAY?"

She chose not to answer that question "Let us go meet up with Doctor Alphys and tell her the situation. She would be at her lab, correct?"

Papyrus nodded "YES. LET'S GO."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I hope this chapter is better than the last one. Sorry about that. I wanted to give you guys an update but I didn't have this chapter done yet. So you got Sans's rambling there. But I think it actually helps to tie in something that happens later.**

… **So I suck at fight scenes. I tried my best though, I hope it came out good enough.**

 **Thanks for reading, everyone! I really appreciate your attention and feedback! Oh! And thank you SO MUCH to NakuHetalia for drawing fanart of this fic! Here's a link to it if you want to see(you need to take out the spaces):**

nani-chama. deviantart art/Fan-Art-Threads-Undertale-Fanfic- 615845928

 **Tra la la, he just said his last words.**


	28. Chapter 28

" **What the HELL, Asriel!?"** The human snapped, advances towards her brother. The monster child recoiled at her abruptness.

"I-I don't know-" he said meekly, toying with his claws. "I-I just couldn't-"

" **Just couldn't make yourself hurt him."** She finished his sentence for him. Snorting indignantly, she turned away from him. **"So I guess the Smiley Trashbag won't let you hurt anyone?"**

Asriel shook his head frantically "No, Chara! Just Papyrus, I think. I don't think he'll be able to stop me from hurting anyone else, though!"

Chara returned her focus to him, red eyes gleaming in the shadow of her bangs. After muttering a quick something under her breath, her smile returned.

" **All right then."** She said in a sing-song voice **"You'll just have to kill everyone else, okay?"** She rose her knife to side of her face, doubling her sinister smile. **"I'll get Papyrus."**

Asriel nodded. Eager to regain his sister's favor, he began to chase after Papyrus. Chara was left alone. Her smile faltered. Eyes narrowing and teeth baring, the corners of her lip tugged downward. Red flushed her stolen face blood-red.

*You're jealous?

" _ **SHUT UP!"**_ She roared, turning to slice futility at nothing.

*You ARE jealous!

" **I never asked you."** she growled.

*Is that why you're targeting Sans and Papyrus?

*You're just jealous?

…

" **Whatever."** Chara muttered, marching after her brother. She took in deep, slow breathes to rid herself of her red coloring. Trembling hands tightened their grip on her knife. Her smile returned. Jealousy? Maybe. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to stop her.

* * *

Alphys was completely absorbed in her work. On occasion, she'd bark out an order. 'Get this', 'Hold this', 'Give me this'. Most of which Undyne did quickly and without question. Now the warrior leaned against the wall, arms crossed over her chest as she awaited her next task. A part of her was wondering what it was the small scientist was working on. When asked, Alphys would began to ramble incomprehensibly. Not purposely, but she spoke so quickly and with so much intention of not straying from her task that Undyne was quickly lost.

From what the fish woman could gather, it had something to so with Sans and DETERMINATION and timelines. But aside from that, zilch.

Someone pounded on the door. Undyne looked at Alphys for any indication of direction. Upon finding her attention not even remotely on the visitors, Undyne took it upon herself to open the door. As soon as she did, Papyrus and Toriel darted in. Toriel quickly slammed the door shut behind them as Papyrus blurted out:

"THE HUMAN WAS POSSESSED BY THE MEAN HUMAN AND KILLED SANS AND GAVE HIS SOUL TO FLOWEY WHO TURNS OUT IS ASRIEL AND NOW THEY'RE GOING AROUND TRYING TO KILL EVERYONE!"

Undyne blinked, taking a moment to process that. Upon her understanding, she clawed at her scalp. "HOLY SHIT!? REALLY!?"

"Yes." Toriel nodded. She looked tired "Chara and Asriel are currently in the process of killing anyone they come across. We barely got away."

"What about Asgore?" Undyne demanded.

Toriel looked to the side, not offering an answer. Papyrus sweated nervously, shrugging "WE-UH… DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO CHECK ON HIM."

Undyne snorted. "Seriously?" She muttered angrily to herself "Fine, I'll give him a call." A quick search in her pants pocket brought her phone to the surface. She quickly dialed Asgore, making a note to get in contact with the Dogs in Snowdin and the two in Hotland as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Papyrus made his way over to Alphys and nudged her "UM… DOCTOR ALPHYS, DID YOU HEAR THAT?"

Alphys blinked a few times then looked up at him "S-sorry. W-what's going on?"

Toriel repeated Papyrus's explanation in a more tactful manner. Alphys's eyes widen.

"O-oh my g-goodness…" She stared at them, then back to her papers, then at her claws. Fidgeting, she quickly returned to her work "I-I was working on something f-for this, b-but n-now I-I-I need to m-make a f-f-few adjustm-ments and uh…." She chew on her pen, wincing "T-this escalated q-quickly-…." She stared up at the pair of them "I-I think I k-know of a way to f-fix this. B-but it'll take some t-time…."

Toriel nodded "Understood." She straightened herself and turned to Undyne "You are captain of the Royal Guard, correct?"

"Yeah." Undyne said, holding her phone to her…ear-fin. "Already getting in contact with the others. Telling them to prepare for a fight-"

"An e-evacuation, Undyne." Alphys said curtly "I-if possible. T-this is going to get m-messy."

Toriel stared her down a moment. Then she nodded "Undyne, what is the state Asgore is in?" She dragged the named out through her teeth but her question held sincerity in its tone.

"Alive." Undyne reported "I filled him in on the situation as much as I could. He's working on keeping the citizens in the Capital safe."

Toriel nodded "Good." She addressed Papyrus "I need you to contact the schools. Tell them there is a situation at hand that can be considered incredibly dangerous. Do not waste time explaining."

Papyrus blinked "B-BUT WHY WOULD THEY LISTEN TO ME?"

"Valid point." Toriel nodded. She looked at Undyne and stated as a fact "He is the newest member of the Royal Guard."

Undyne nodded curtly, giving Papyrus a thumbs up before barking orders over her phone. Papyrus blinked the tears out of his eyes and nodded.

"UNDERSTOOD!" He immediately dived into the task given to him. Toriel sighed and rubbed at her snout. She turned to Alphys.

"To my understanding, you have quite a thorough camera system rigged about the underground?" she said. Alphys nodded.

"Y-yes?"

"Bring it up for me." She stated as an order "I shall keep record of their movements."

"G-got it." She hustled over to the large monitor and pulled up the cameras. After a quick explanation of how they work and the reassurance that Toriel understood, she ran back over to her work. A quick glance at Papyrus and Undyne and she felt a lump of regret sitting in her stomach like a stone. Papyrus just reached his dream of joining the Royal Guard. She finally had come clean to Undyne about almost everything. Toriel was back and taking charge.

The only way she could think of to fix this mess would require all of that to be undone.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Late update! ….Sorry.**

 **Tra la la**


	29. Chapter 29

Alphys frowned, clutching the small vial of DETERMINATION in her trembling claws. Undyne and Papyrus were anxious pacing about, glancing over at the screen Toriel kept a keen eye on. The air was thick with tension. Anxiety. It was hard to breathe.

Alphys bit down on her lip, took a deep breathe, and stepped towards them. Her eyes darted over to Toriel. A sudden little error in her plan. She just couldn't know.

She tapped on the wall, gaining Undyne's attention and Papyrus's soon after. Before either of them could make a sound, the scientist put a finger to her lips. The fish warrior nodded, repeated the motion to Papyrus.

Quiet.

The three of them fled to the other room where they can talk without being overheard.

"O-okay." Alphys stammered quietly, turning the corner to make sure Toriel didn't notice their retreat. She turned back to her audience, taking another deep breathe. "S-so….H-here's the plan…." She held out the vial "W-we give this to Sans-"

"BUT-" Papyrus began to shout, quickly caught himself, and lowered his voice "Alphys, Sans is dead." He winced as if the statement pained him.

Alphys nodded "I know. His body is. His SOUL isn't." She looked between them, nibbling on her lip, the continued "L-listen. This is why we can't tell Toriel about this. T-the plan involves…er…." She fidgeted. Ducking her head, she was suddenly afraid to meet either of their eyes. When she spoke, her voice was just barely audible "k-killing Asriel."

"What?" Papyrus gasped "B-but that's her son! Miss Toriel will feel so bad-"

"Shut up, Papyrus." Undyne hissed, lightly smacking him. Her uncovered eye glared into Alphys's heart. "What after?"

Alphys nodded her gratitude. "A-after Asriel is dead, we inject Sans's SOUL with the DETERMINATION, giving it some control of the timeline. In theory."

Undyne nodded "Okay, I gotcha."

Papyrus fidgeted "B-but then what-"

"Sans RESETs." Undyne said bluntly. Papyrus stared, flabbergasted.

"B-but how can we help him with all this, then? We won't remember!" he gasped.

"But Sans will be _alive."_ Undyne said "And we won't have two demon-kids running around dusting everyone!"

Papyrus looked away, still uncomfortable with the plan. Alphys, shaking, rose her voice a notch. She forced it to be sharp and curt "Papyrus. We NEED you for this to work." She rose a hand to place on his shaking shoulder. The authority in her tone wavered "Please."

Papyrus took a deep breathe, closing his eye sockets. They opened quickly and abruptly, a spark of orange flickering off into the dim light.

"We'll just have to count on Sans to tell us again." He said. Clearly he was struggling to be calm."Okay, Doctor Alphys. What do you need me to do?"

"To be Papyrus." Alphys nodded. "Papyrus, Sans's SOUL won't let Asriel hurt you. From what you told me about him earlier, that much is clear. All you need to do is hold his and Chara's attention." Papyrus nodded, forcing his eagerness to partake in the plan. Alphys addressed Undyne next "Then, while Papyrus has their attention, Undyne…"

"I stab 'em." She finished for her. Alphys nodded.

"Yeah. S-stab em. Asriel, anyway." She turned to each of them and once again displayed the DETERMINATION "Then, before Sans's SOUL breaks or reforms Asriel, I jam this into it. Sans hopefully sees what we're trying to get him to do, and does it."

"A RESET." Papyrus nodded his understanding.

"Yeah." Undyne said, grinding her fangs in a frown.

"Yep." Alphys said. She fidgeted again, staring at the almost eerie glow of the red in her claws.

One RESET. That's all they needed. That's everything they didn't want.


	30. Chapter 30

Asriel grinned as the powdery dust of the fallen monster dropped from the hands of his sister.

"That was HILARIOUS, Chara!" He grinned. The human smiled at him.

" **They didn't even expect it!"** she laughed **"It was PRICELESS!"**

The two shared the glee of the murder. A minute or two, the pair were wiping the tears out of their eyes. Asriel patted down his pants, shaking off freelancing grains of dust. He ignored the sharp pain in his chest.

It hadn't taken long to destroy dozens of monsters. Many of them had fled or evacuated, but there was still the large group who doubted such a dangerous event could happen. Easy pickings.

Chara used the edge of her sweater to wipe off the caked dust. Eyes narrowed, she threw a few experimental swipes at nothing. Nodding her content, she turned to her brother.

" **Well, let's see who else we can find."**

He nodded, his viney tail waving back and forth much like that of an eager dog's. The child's grin seemed permanent and the sparkle in his eyes glowed with the admiration and affection for the one standing in his vision.

*You see it, don't you?

She ignored the fallen human.

A gleeful beckon of her hand and Asriel's paw was in it. The two smiled at each other again. Walking in sync, they trotted down the damp path of Waterfall to Snowdin. Chances are that the dogs had already evacuated most of the residents, but the dogs themselves were most likely still there. Prepared to fight.

Prepared to die.

The anticipation of it set a grin to the girl's face.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

They did. And as they did, a bony figure sailed overhead, landed in front of them, and gave a graceful twirl. He held out his gloved hand as if to hold them back through the sheer force of his will alone.

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, COMMAND YOU TO STOP YOUR MURDERING!" He shouted.

Chara's smile twitched up. Twisting into something more like a snarl. Asriel snorted, glaring. He let go of his sister's hand and stepped foreward, flexing his claws.

"I'll handle him, Chara." He growled. Chara rolled her eyes

" **You couldn't get him before, Azzy. I told you, I'll handle him."** She muttered.

"No, Chara please!" Asriel snapped "I will **DESTROY** him this time!"

" **Fine, fine."** Chara said, throwing her hands up in the air **"Go ahead. If you can't do it, I'll get it."**

Asriel grinned at her, snapped his gaze towards the tall skeleton, and bared his fangs.

"NOW, NOW, ASRIEL- WOAH!" Papyrus yelped, quickly rolling away from the young prince's strike. He bounced back onto his feet "WOWZA, YOU ACTUALLY ALMOST HIT ME-"

" _ **NOT ALMOST THIS TIME, BUDDY-"**_ Asriel roared, racing towards his target. Papyrus moved quickly to the side, only barely dodging the child's claws. Grooves carved themselves into the bone of his fore-arm, throwing up flecks of dust that peppered his assailant's sadistic grin. The whites of his eyes turned black, his grin growing darker.

He landed, made a sharp turn, and sprang again before Papyrus could steady himself. The skeleton let out a startle shriek and hurried to move backwards. Unfortunately, he found his heel catch on a stray stone that sent him plummeting onto the ground. Asriel took his chance and went in for the kill.

Chara leaned forward, a wicked smile across her face.

But…

Nothing happened.

Papyrus blinked, staring at the outstretched claws right at his neck vertebrae. The hand they were attached to shook considerably, as if resisting itself. Papyrus looked up at the goat child. The boy's expression was twisted, confused and frustrated. He grinded his fangs a moment before shouting:

" _ **WHY WON'T YOU LET ME WIN!?"**_

" **Enough of this."** The girl muttered, twirling her knife in her hand. She darted to the duo at the same time a glowing spear was thrown through her brother's body.

No one said anything. From then, it was just a film strip of events. Frame-by-frame they shown through a shaking projector on a dry and cracked screen.

Asriel stared.

Chara's grin turned into a growl.

Undyne looked away.

Papyrus's eye sockets grew wide.

There was dust. And as it fell, a white heart ripped from the specks, floating in the air. Alphys darted out from some ways behind Undyne, and stabbed the SOUL with the needle at the same moment Chara stabbed her through the chest.

As Alphys fell, she stared at the heart. Undyne's roar of rage and grief fell dully against the blood pumping in her ears. The battle that erupted between the warrior and the human was quickly herded out of her line of sight.

Vision blurring, she could only make out a few things.

The SOUL turned a very pale red, floating downwards as if to rest in Papyrus's outstretched hands. The skeleton was crying, glowing orange tears filling the majority of what was left of her sight. She noted the way his jaw moved, how he curled over the SOUL as the world wiped away.

What did he say?

" _I LOVE YOU TOO, BROTHER!"_

Sans jolted awake. The strings that wrapped around him jerked, pressing tightly against his body. Flailing, he managed to rip himself semi-free from them, and found there was no way to detach them. He stared about the place he found himself in. Filled with darkness only the dim lights of waves of white and blue.

The echoes of his brother's voice rang through his skull. The man took a deep breath and stole a glance at his SOUL. As he thought, as _ALPHYS_ thought. It was red. Barely. A faint pink glow surrounding its outline.

But the memory of Undyne's strength, Toriel's friendship, Alphys's efforts, and the words of his brother filled his mind, heart, and SOUL, he could also feel something else occupying the empty spaces of his bones….

The heart absorbed the dim red light about it, sucking it in and using it to fill itself. Sans felt his grin grow, felt his eye sockets narrow. The light sloshed about in his SOUL, using it to paint itself a dazzling, gleaming red.

"You are filled with DETERMINATION." Said a light voice. Sans turned and felt his grin grow wider.

"heya kid." he greeted them. Frisk smiled at him, tilting their head to the side as a light giggle escaped them.

"Heya Sans!" they beamed. Sans chuckled, ruffling the child's hair.

"is this how you usually feel?" he asked. He stretched his phalanges in front of him, quickly balling them into fists "it's pretty great."

"Yep!" Frisk chirped. They offered their hand, and Sans took it. The child smiled at him. "Do you know how to RESET?"

"nah." Sans shrugged. He winked "don't worry about it, kiddo. i'm a fast learner." He closed his eye sockets, breathing deeply. His soul-strings shot out, now shining a radiant rose color. They thrashed about in a confused manner. Then, as their owner centered himself, the strings became docile. Floating. Forming some sort of circle with their lengths. One word flickered into it.

RESET.

Sans grinned, eye sockets still closed, and reach for it-

Only for his hand to meet with another.

His eye sockets snapped open to find Asriel in front of him. Entirely Asriel. No plant-like features on this one besides the green sweater.

The child looked away from him a moment, toying with his claws, then looked up at him. "Um….hi." he said.

Sans blinked "hey." He went to exchange a glance with Frisk, just to find they were no longer there. He tensed up. "where's-"

"They're at the Menu." Asriel interrupted.

" 'menu'?" Sans quoted. Asriel chuckled nervously, turning his head and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Er…yeah, that's what I call it. That dark place where you can RESET."

Sans couldn't help but chuckle "and you call it a MENU?"

Asriel laughed even more nervously, bleating a few times. "Uh… Well, you call these time loops 'RESETs', so…."

Sans shrugged "fair enough."

They floated across from each other for a few moment. Listening to what could only be described as underwater waves that caressed their forms here. They avoided looking at each other.

Then he heard a sniffle.

"kid?" Sans blinked.

"I'm sorry!" Asriel cried, throwing his body at Sans's and enveloping in a hug "I'm s-so sorry! I've been so h-horrible to you and e-everyone else-!" the child continued to ramble on, tears streaming down his face as his small hands clutched tightly onto the skeleton's hoodie. The sound of 'sorry' filled Sans's sense. The emotion behind it crashed into him, and he couldn't help but flinch.

He sighed, wrapping his arms around the child and smiled down at him "i guess when it really comes down to it, you are just a…" he winked " _kid._ "

The sobbing stopped just a moment for Asriel to mutter a sniffled "Is that because I'm a goat?"

"bingo."

"…That's funny." The boy sniffed.

Sans chuckled a little bit, kneeling down to wrap the child into a snugger embrace. Asriel returned it whole-heartedly.

"I-I'm so s-sorry…" he whispered, sobs breaking his voice. Sans rubbed the child's back comfortingly.

*Forgive

…

…

…

…

…

 **W̞͎̙̃̓͒̍͆Ẽ̙͍̜̖ͧ̾L͙ͮ͐ͨḺ̞̫̮͍̖̐̓͗̑ ̲̲̬̰̦̞̻̑͗Ḯ̗͕͙ͯͨͧͩ̓ͭS͈̱̱͓̥͆ͬͨͭͦͮ͒͘N̸̯̅̒'̣̤̮̥͇̗͈͐ͧ̽̋̑̉T͗͊̽̋͢ ̯̩̪̱̘̝͙̑T͖̪͕̾͊̔́̈̌ͬH̙̒̓̈́ͮ̋ͩ͆̕A̓̒͐͛҉̜̠̜̜͎T̨̗̺̈́̋̂̒ͣ͊ ͂ͭ̈́A͇͇̺̺ͮ̉͆͟D̩͙̰̗̗͓̿̔O͍̫̥̺͍̻ͦ͋̍́R̡̲Ǎ̰͓̬̾ͤ͝B̖̙̪̠̬̀ͧ͛͑̂L̷̥̬͔̹͙ͨ̌ͬ͗̑ͅE̡͔̙͚͚͓ͯͦͥ͐ͅ?̢͔̺͚̞̌̽̐́͊**


	31. Chapter 31

"CHARA!" Asriel exclaimed, eye wide and still watering. Sans raised an arm in front of the boy on instinct and felt his blue magic flare to life.

The human girl stood in the darkness. Eyes glowing red. Face flushed just as red. Her brown bangs hung over her eyes, throwing them into their shadow just to emphasize their glow. Her small, pale, fists were clenched to her sides, her shoulders up and trembling.

She glared.

Frowning.

Sans and Asriel watched cautiously, waiting for her to say something. To do something. Something.

She spoke. And her voice was broken. Strangled.

 **"WHY!?"** She sobbed out. She threw her head up, angry tears streaming down her cheeks. The girl took a step forward **"WHY!? IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT FAIR!"**

Sans blinked his confusion "what…?"

"Chara, what are you talking about?" Asriel asked gently, pushing Sans's arm aside and slowly approaching his sister.

 **"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"** Chara snapped. She wiped at her eyes roughly with the edge of her sleeve, taking several steps back. Asriel stopped, staring confoundedly. He looked back to Sans for some morsel of guidance. The short skeleton was just as lost as he was. Asriel took a breath and tried again.

"Chara, please. Tell me what's wrong." He begged.

Chara stared at him a moment. Then she began to laugh. It was soft at first. Quiet. Then it quickly became louder, broken and cracking with sniffles and tears. **"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"** her voice dropped suddenly to a growl **"You have NO idea?"**

Sans aimed his gaze elsewhere, trying to gather his thoughts. Asriel said something else, trying to get through to his sister only to be ridiculed some more. His SOUL reacted to his desires, reaching out to the girl without his knowledge. He tensed a moment when their SOULs connected, but quickly calmed himself as he recognized the feeling. As he did when Asriel was in possession of his SOUL, he felt the girl's watered-down emotions.

Rage, annoyance, bitterness, despair, frustration, betrayal-

His memories recalled a snippet of a conversation he had with her before.

 ** _"I killed myself for nothing!"_**

Sans sighed, turning to look at the two. Chara spat at her brother, teeth bared and poison in her glare. Tears laced Asriel's eyes.

"you're jealous." He said is as a fact.

"What?" Asriel blinked and Chara hissed.

Sans put himself in between them, craning his neck to look down at Chara. His grin seemed flat.

"you're _jealous._ of me and pap."

 **"WHAT!?"** Chara yelled in disbelief, glaring at him **"What the hell do you mean by that-"**

"you're jealous we're both alive." Sans clarified "you're jealous we're still with each other. you're jealous that we'd do anything for each other."

Chara opened her mouth to respond. Then closed it. Then opened it again. She settled for turning her gaze away from his, clenching her fists until her knuckles were white.

"Chara?" Asriel blinked "I-is that true?"

She didn't respond immediately. When she did, there was enough venom in her voice to kill.

 **"Six."** Was what she said **"You only needed to get SIX SOULS, ASRIEL!"** She suddenly turned, closing the distance between her and the goat child. **"WE MADE A PLAN AND EVERYTHING! YOU JUST NEEDED TO USE MY SOUL, THEN GET SIX MORE, THEN EVERYONE COULD'VE BEEN FREE! THEN NO ONE WOULD HAVE BEEN TRAPPED IN THE DARK ANYMORE!"**

Asriel recoiled from her voice, flinching. Tears filled his eyes. "I-I'm sorry-"

 **"SORRY!?"** Chara laughed at that **"OKAY, SORRY! Yeah, that'll BRING ME BACK FROM THE DEAD!"** She broke off, sobbing. Throwing one arm up, she indicated Sans **"HE'S killed people for Papyrus! HE'S killed ME for Papyrus!"** She snarled, wiped at her eyes quickly, and then jabbed a finger into Asriel's chest **"HE'S killed YOU for Papyrus!"** Tears overflowed, unchecked, from her dimming eyes. **"Why is it HE can do all THAT for HIM but you couldn't do ANYTHING for ME!?"**

Asriel cowered away from her, not meeting her eyes. Sans interrupted.

"pap didn't kill you for me."

Neither of them had an immediate response. Asriel fidgeted with his claws in between wiping away his tears. Chara's shoulder shook as she tried to conceal her sobs. Her arm dropped limply to her side.

 **"Doesn't that make you mad?"** she said softly.

Sans chuckled a moment, then shook his skull. "not at all. my bro's too cool for that." He winked at her "that's why i do all the dirty work."

She chuckled **"Like killing me?"**

"like killing you. yeh." Sans agreed. He knelt in between the children, putting his arms around their shoulders. He addressed Chara "listen kid, i've fought him as a weed since forever. every time, it was 'chara would like this' and 'chara would like that'. even soulless, you were always somehow on his mind." He smiled "your bro really cares for you, kiddo."

Chara didn't meet his eyes, but rather looked at Asriel. Their eyes met shakily. "…Azzy…." She teared up, her smile spreading across her lips "You big crybaby."

"Look who's talking!" Asriel sobbed, throwing his arms around his sister. Chara tensed as it was she wasn't expecting this. But then she threw herself into the hug as well.

"…Azzy…." She sniffed, nestling her face into her brother's fur. "I missed you…."

Sans grinned, content with himself. He let them be and took to wandering around the void for a while. At a brisk pace, he amused himself with the thought of his feet somehow touching ground that wasn't there. His strings flowed loosely, trailing after him as he walked around. RESETing now probably wouldn't affect the two. They existed outside of the loops now.

He took a deep breathe, focusing on summoning his new ability to RESET.

…

 ***Determination**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N**

 **Thank you everyone who read to the end! I really, really appreciate that you all took the time to read this far and those of you who review. Thank you all so, so much! I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope this ending is satisfying enough. Thank you all again!**

* * *

The RESET went smoothly.

Sans had awoke in his room, tired but not quite exhausted. A few stretches, a quick look in a mirror and he realized that the changes caused by his SOUL were still there. His eye sockets still shone blue, and all and all, he felt more energized. Luckily with the RESET, his soul-strings decided their time was better spent in his SOUL. His dim, white SOUL. No long coursing with the power of DETERMINATION.

He didn't mind.

Explaining the eyes to Papyrus wasn't hard in the slightest. In fact, the taller skeleton didn't question it at all. Whether the memories of the last loop or not were still in his skull, no one knows. Although, Sans had caught him on several occasions. Tracing the edge of his cheekbone with his gloved hand, as if to prod at the scar that was never there. But aside from that, he showed no sign of remembering anything.

Sans had again taken up his habit of going to the door in Snowdin, exchanging jokes and stories with the woman who didn't know his name anymore. Undyne kept her habit of 'training' Papyrus, Alphys stayed mainly in her lab. Frisk, he assumed, was living with Toriel in the RUINS. As it was, apparently this run around, the child decided not to rush into an adventure. So, judging from the small scurrying footsteps behind the door, it would only make sense they were there. Sans couldn't blame them for taking their time. After everything that happened last loop, he needed a break too.

It was maybe a week or two later, and Sans was just beginning to fall back into his routine. He nestled himself into his station in the woods, drinking ketchup and letting his heavy pseudo-eyelids close to sleep. He was listening to the distant sounds of the dogs when a high-pitched voice call out to him.

"Howdy, Sans!" said a chipper flower.

Sans bolted awake, staring at where the plant was perched on his station.

"asriel?" he blinked. Suddenly his expression shifted to a dark one "aw geez, what'd i do-"

"Shut up." Flowey said curtly. He bobbed up and down "Don'tchu worry about lil' ol' me! I'm fine. Really!" He grinned "I mean, Chara and I can see and talk to each other again. It's great!" He suddenly wilted a bit, pouting to accent it "I mean, when I'm outside of the Menu Screen I have to be a flower, but I'm Asriel in it!"

"oh." Sans grinned his relief "okay. i'll admit, i was worried i trapped ya back in a plant again."

"Oh golly." Flowey chirped. "Nope! I'm all okay!"

Sans tilted his skull "ok. then why are you back here?"

"Oh! Yeah!" Flowey exclaimed "Hold on a sec!" he flooped away briefly, before reappearing with a crudely made card in his mouth. He placed it in front of Sans. "Chara and I made this for you! Well…I made it. But I wrote what Chara wanted to in it!"

"oh?" Sans said, shaking the plant slobber off the card. Upon opening it, he found several crude crayon drawings inside. From deductive reasoning, he found they were supposed to be himself, Asriel, and Chara. Shaky writing near the top said:

 _Thanks for lending me your SOUL!- Asriel_

 _Sorry for killing you and everyone you love. Repeatedly. –Chara_

Sans couldn't keep the annoyance off his face.

"Yeah, I know." Flowey sighed "But she really wanted to apologize."

"tell her i appreciate the thought, k?" Sans said, subtly sliding the card into his coat.

"Sure!" Flowey chirped. He looked bashful a moment, looking away "But yeah. Sorry….For that." He fidgeted, looking around in a sudden desperate attempt to change the subject. "So hey, wasn't your SOUL all wonky in its whole timeline thing? How are you going to fix that?"

Sans winked at him "don't have to."

"What?" Flowey blinked. He suddenly looked annoyed "What, did that problem conveniently go away or something?"

"nah sprout, that'd be lazy story telling."

"What-?"

"as it turns out, when you absorbed my SOUL, it synced up with your timeline instead of this one." Sans explained. He gave a light shrug "so i should be good."

"Golly." Flowey grinned "Look at me helping you."

"yeah. thanks." Sans said.

Then there was an awkward silence.

"So…Bye." Flowey said quietly, slowly burrowing into the ground "I'll tell Chara you said hi."

"see ya, sprout." Sans waved "feel free to come bug me whenever." He winked "just don't kill everyone, k?"

"RUDE!" Flowey hissed, he quickly burrowed downwards, only to leave his mouth very slightly above the ground. "Er…yeah. I guess I'll bug ya sometime though."

Sans chuckled, waving as the flower made his way.

He sighed contently, slouching over his station and closing his eyes again. It was quiet. He was tired. It was time for a nap.

When his phone vibrated.

Annoyed that his slumber was once again interrupted, Sans flipped open his phone with a yawn. Rubbing at his eye sockets, he blinked his confusion when he saw that Alphys had texted him.

 _Time Received: _1213tgfgbvmcfgbhfggx_ _ **ERROR**_ _fjzse;ofj;gjxdf_

Unnerving. But he read it anyway.

…

 _Hey Sans, I don't know if this'll work. I had to mess with a lot of things but I hope it gets to you._

 _Before we started the plan (that hopefully worked) I injected myself with DETERMINATION. Not a lot, really. Just…. Just enough so HOPEFULLY I'll remember something. Sans, if I don't, I'm sorry. But just know, that no matter what Timeline it might be, if you called and asked for help I would be overjoyed to hear from you. A bit shy, probably, but happy. I'll do everything in my power to help you, somehow._

 _I guess that's it,_

 _Alphys_

Sans found his grin grow as his eye sockets scanned the message. The lights that served as his pupils shone brighter as they moved left to right. Although, there was a certain bitterness to his grin. Half-lidded sockets, a bit of a forced lift to his mouth. His shoulders rose. A nice gesture, but-

 _Riiinnngg Riiiinnnggg_

Sans blinked as his phone rung. The number was Alphys's and he tried not to expect anything when he answered it.

"'sup, sans here." He said casually.

"H-h-hi S-s-sans…." Stammered the voice. He could practically see her fidgeting "I-I-I…. Uh- Sans, I d-d-don't even know h-how I kn-knew this n-number, but I-I-I did…." She took a few raspy breathes "I-I-I… Uh….."

"breathe, alphy." Sans suggested. He heard a sharp, slightly too long inhale and dragged out exhale. The line was silent for a moment.

"D-do you w-wanna c-come over and w-w-watch anime?" she asked nervously. Sans let out a sharp laugh that lasted close to a minute. "U-Uh…." Alphys stammered. Sans wiped a tear from the corner of his eyes and grinned.

"Sure."

 **Tra la la…**

…

 **The End.**


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